Fall is here! Leaves are changing, kids are dreaming up their Halloween costumes, and plants are smiling in the rain. Life is revolving around pumpkin spice and football. Yes, fall is here at last – are your gutters going to be in shape? Overflowing gutters are the number one cause of basement water problems and cracked foundations. Failing to maintain your gutters can become a costly repair to your home.
The popularity of gutter cleaning and repair services peaks in the fall months as homeowners turn to the pros for help keeping their home’s flood protection system running smoothly. With the surge of falling leaves and constant wash of rain, fall brings on a number of challenges for home maintenance, some of which require the help of professional gutter cleaning and repair services.
Avoid Flooding and Water Damage
We often call gutters the silent killer, because homeowners don’t notice a problem until it’s too late. This fact recently hit home for a family member. A cracked downspout was causing water to leak down the side of the house. The wood began to rot, but there was a bigger problem. The rain leaking from the gutter and poor drainage weakened the foundation causing thousands of dollars in repairs.
Gutter cleaning and repair is chiefly about keeping your gutter system is shape so that it can properly divert all water from your house. If your gutters are clogged, water will seek the easiest route down, which usually means seeping into any cracks in the walls and attic. When this happens, all sorts of problems arise. Not only do you risk subjecting your home to toxic mold growth, but you risk serious damage to your foundation.
Mold Problems
Though we have already identified the mold-stopping effects of gutter cleaning as a means of flood prevention, there is another benefit worth mentioning. Fall is when the orange and auburn leaves start blowing off of trees and into your gutters. We know this can restrict proper gutter function, but did you know that it can also lead to serious mold problems when allowed to accumulate?
It isn’t hard to see why. When leaves, mulch, and bark sits in a damp, tightly-packed environment like the inside of a clogged gutter, it has all it needs to spawn a whole world of mold colonies. When gutter cleaning and repair is neglected, this mold continues to creep up out of your gutters, where it can decay shingles, eat at exposed wood, or just fill your property with stink every time it rains!
Get Rid of the Creepy Crawlers
Gutter cleaning and repair is crucial for controlling the pest population around your home. When sticks, leaves, birds’ nests, and other debris are allowed to collect in your gutters, you unknowingly create the perfect habitat for problematic pests. This effective is dramatically increased when this debris stops proper drainage, leaving pockets of warm water filled with organic matter. Eggs are laid, larvae are spawned, and nests are made – before long, you have an embarrassing insect problem to explain to your guests!
Spiders usually produce a mass of silk-robed eggs in the fall, and then die, relying on the unhatched eggs to keep their legacy alive in the spring. These itsy bitsy spiders often elect to lay their eggs in clogged gutters; fortunately, they are easily removed and disposed of with a standard gutter cleaning and repair service. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of spiders! Call the Genie today to help you “wash the spider out!”
