Keep Your Gutters Clear and Protect Your Home From Water Damage

The guttering on your house does a very important job, keeping rainwater away from delicate parts of the building and preventing damage. Despite its importance, however, not many homeowners give a lot of thought to their guttering. For a while, nothing bad is likely to happen as a result of guttering neglect. But eventually, the gutters will get blocked up, leading to overflow and potential damage to your home.

Here are some ways to make sure your gutters stay clear so they can do the job they're installed to do and protect the house from water damage.

The old fashioned method

The best way to clear debris out of your gutters isn't the most fun or convenient. It simply involves setting up a ladder, climbing up and scraping out any debris that's accumulated. If you do this regularly, you shouldn't have any problems.

If you've never cleaned out your gutters before, you might be in for a nasty shock. However, taking a look for yourself helps you to see what type of debris is building up, which can help you deal with it in other ways.

Installing gutter guards

The precise design of gutter guards varies, but they all do the same job: stopping things from getting into the gutter in the first place. They're fixed in place and designed to let rainwater through but stop solid objects from causing blockages.

Minimising debris

Dead leaves are one of the most common causes of guttering blockages, so limiting how many of them are about can really help. Cut back any trees that are near to gutters, particularly if they're hanging over. And clear up leaves from the ground after they fall, as the wind can whip them back up and into gutters.

Keeping birds away

Unpleasantly, bird droppings are another major cause of blocked gutters. You can keep them away from your roof area simply by providing a bird table and a perch elsewhere in your garden. You should quickly notice how effective this is.

Checking for faults

When you're manually clearing gutters, give them a quick visual inspection to see if there are any uneven or damaged parts that might make blockages more likely. The guttering should be positioned so that water can flow smoothly into the drainpipe, but if it's moved out of place or is coming away from the wall, it can cause points where debris is more likely to gather.

Contact a company like Trimview Mobile Guttering for help setting up your gutters.