GUTTER & EAVESTROUGH CLEANING
Professional Gutter Cleaning Service
Our gutter and downspout cleaning services will keep your eavestroughs looking their best and ensure they are in proper working order.
Why is Gutter Cleaning Important?
Gutter cleaning is an essential home maintenance task that too often gets overlooked by homeowners before it’s too late. Gutters and downspouts are components of the homes roof-water management system that collects stormwater and roof melt from the surface of the roof and diverts it away from the structure. When gutters fill with debris and obstruct water from properly draining, any of the following issues can arise:
Water damage - the water that spills over clogged gutters tends to find a way into your home one way or another. It can flow back towards the roofline through the soffit and enter exterior walls, causing wood rot along the way. Or it can settle at ground-level around the foundation and freeze, or frost-heave, which can lead to foundation cracks and flooded basements.
Sagging gutters - the excess weight of a debris- and water-filled gutter can cause it to become unsecured and pull away from the fascia board, requiring more expensive eavestrough repairs or outright replacement.
Damaged landscaping - when water spills over clogged gutters it can ruin the landscaping below - washing away soil, splashing dirt onto basement windows and siding, and overwatering plants.
Ice damming - clogged gutters prevent snowmelt from properly draining in the winter which, when subjected to freeze-thaw cycles, can contribute to ice damming that can damage the roof along the roofline and cause interior flooding,
Why Use a Gutter Cleaning Service?
Despite the importance of proper gutter maintenance, gutter cleaning is a job most homeowners dread doing themselves - and with good reason. The required ladder climbing around your property, particularly for multi-storey homes, can be stressful and dangerous; while pulling handfuls of wet leaf debris and decomposing organic matter can be downright unpleasant. Now that doesn't exactly sound like anyones idea of how to spend a weekend afternoon. If you despise the feeling of gross on your hands, and especially if you aren’t comfortable working on a ladder at heights, we strongly recommend you call a professional gutter cleaning company. Give Upkeep a call and get complete peace of mind knowing your homes’ gutter system is in proper working order.
How To Clean Your Gutters
There are a number of methods employed by other “professionals” and handymen to clean your gutters - some better than others. In the interest of speed some will use a leaf blower or pressure washer right off the bat to remove debris as quick as possible. Not only does this come at the expense of blowing dry or wet debris all over your yard, roof or windows, but using a pressure washer can also put water in behind the gutters - the exact problem gutters are designed to prevent. Even the simple ‘ladder and bucket’ method can be dangerous when performed by a careless service provider. They may lean their ladders directly against your eavestrough, which can scratch or even dent your gutters. Even pulling debris out of the gutter in a careless manner can leave unsightly muck on your landscaping below or the face of your eavestrough.
The Upkeep Gutter Cleaning Process
We’ve developed our 3-stage gutter cleaning process to provide a safe, efficient and effective cleaning while ensuring the structural integrity of your gutter system. We use and maneuver ladders around your property in a safety-conscious manner, using ladder stabilizers, or stand-offs, to prevent the ladder from making contact with the eavestroughs. We begin with a hand removal of all bulk leaf debris, making sure to wipe clean any dirt that gets on the face of gutter during removal. Using a high-powered wet/dry gutter vacuum we remove all remaining debris - tree seedlings, wet matter and degraded shingle granules. Lastly, all downspouts are checked and blown clean to ensured they are free from obstructions. All gutter debris is collected in our supplied paper yard waste bags and placed for curb-side yard waste collection.
While performing the cleaning, our technicians inspect your eavestrough for issues concerning leaks, broken hangers, loosely hanging or improperly-sloped sections, or disconnected downspouts. We will bring these issues to your attention and can, in most cases, fix the problem right then and there.
How Often Should You Clean Your Gutters?
Gutter cleaning frequency is dependent upon your local climate and the amount of trees surrounding your home. As a general rule we recommend annual service at a minimum to provide an opportunity to assess the structural integrity of the system. Even a property with few trees can experience gutter problems from roofing materials - shingles, shingle granules and roofing nail; pests and animal nest; and children’s toys and balls. More typically we service homes twice annually - spring and fall:
Spring cleaning is important as it provides an opportunity to assess any structural issues that developed through the winter resulting from snow and ice build-up, while ensuring all debris is removed in advance of the rainy season.
Fall cleaning is essential as it is when most deciduous trees shed their leaves. Scheduling a cleaning in the late fall, once most of the foliage has fallen and in advance of snowfall and freezing temperatures, maximizes value and ensures the gutters will properly drain snowmelt through the winter.