Are your gutters ready for spring showers?

You probably cleaned your home’s gutters last fall. Spring rains are starting anew, though. Have you checked the gutters recently?

Winter deposits all sorts of refuse atop a roof: sticks, leaves, needles and acorns, to name a few. All eventually roll into the nearest gutter, where they block water flow.

Serious problems can follow. Water spilling over from clogged gutters erodes soil, creates unwanted pools, and can even damage a home’s foundation.

Spring gutter cleaning should be standard practice for homeowners in Brookfield, Elm Grove and New Berlin, WI. Your home’s gutters are its first line of defense in managing spring rains, which can be heavy. You need them working exactly as designed.

Ensuring this performance involves work both at roof and ground levels. If you didn’t clean your gutters prior to winter, then it’s REALLY overdue.

First, get on the ladder (or climb on the roof, if safe) and peer into the gutters. Pick out any debris, even if small. It’s messy, often smelly work … but necessary.

Downspouts are the next vital link. Winter ice and snow often disconnect or damage downspout parts. Check to see that downspouts are connected along their entire length: at the roof, midway point and lower half. The curved connection at the very bottom is especially susceptible to decoupling.

Where does water exiting a downspout flow? The goal is to drain
away from the house. If there’s no obvious downward slope at a downspout’s end, consider adding a longer downspout, or grading or trenching soil to create a path for water.

Don’t like the heights of gutter cleaning, or just don’t want to dig through the mess and muck that often fills gutters? Contact us, and we’ll have your gutters clean and flowing in short order.

“Spring cleaning” usually refers to work done inside a home. Before turning on a vacuum, though, go outside and check the gutters. While they don’t need “white glove” treatment, a clean, open gutter is a smart investment of time in your home’s health.