How Clogged Gutters Are Cleaned Before Winter?

Gutter cleaning is one of home maintenance’s most essential chores, especially if you live in Maryland and New Jersey, and people mostly neglect it. In the fall, many leaves and debris fall in your gutters; it is compulsory to check your gutters before the winter snowstorms.

In winter, snow accumulates on the roof; when the temperature rises, it melts and moves into the gutters, resulting in freeze and unfreeze. It causes mold issues if fall leaves are not removed and damages your building.

This article has prepared a detailed guide on How Clogged Gutters Are Cleaned Before Winter.

What Causes Clogged Gutters in Winter?

Before moving towards the method of cleaning clogged gutters, you must know what causes the clogged gutters in the winter season.

Below are the two reasons that cause clogged gutters:

·      Collection of Falling Leaves:

The most important time for gutter cleaning is the winter season in areas like Maryland, New Jersey. It is due to their greenery and many falling leaves in fall. Many leaves also collect in your gutters and cause clogged gutters and downspouts.

Mainly these leaves don’t cause many issues in starting, and people ignore the maintenance that causes extensive damage in winter.

·      Heavy Rainstorms:

Another reason for clogged gutters in the winter season is heavy rainstorms. When the fall leaves are not removed from the gutters, the heavy rains cause the clog issue to become more intense.

Rainwater can’t flow properly through gutters and downspouts, which results in water flow in your homes. It causes ceiling, foundation, and wall damage to your properties.

How Clogged Gutters Are Cleaned Before Winter?

People make gutter cleaning task very difficult due to the mess caused by rain and leaves. We have compiled the steps to clean clogged gutter to make this task simple for you without a mess. Let’s jump to them without wasting time.

1- Safety First

Your safety is the top priority when doing maintenance. It is best to avoid cleaning gutters from the roofs yourself and let professionals do this job as it is hazardous. If you are doing it yourself, ensure you have a high ladder reaching all the areas quickly.

Don’t stretch more than possible as you get imbalanced and can fall, resulting in serious injury. It would help if you used the ladder stabilizer, especially when you place a ladder in the garden, as the surface is not solid enough.

2- Remove Leaves and Debris

To start cleaning, find the debris area by using the ladder. You can remove the debris and leaves using a kitchen spatula, sandbox shovel, or gutter cleaning tongs. The debris will be collected in a bucket, and you can empty it when it is filled.

You can also fall that down on the ground and then clean it later. Place a cloth on the ground so all the leaves and debris will be in one place, saving you another cleaning task.

It is important to have gloves to avoid damage due to sharp edges of downspouts and unseen screws.

3- Use Scrapper and Hose:

Some debris at the edges and bottom of gutters may still be due to hardness. It would help if you used a scraper to scrape that debris away. In addition, the hose will also be used that will loosen the dirt.

4- Flush out the Gutters:

After cleaning all the debris and leaves, you must flush out your gutters to clean them properly. Some broken bits of leaves and twigs can be stuck in the gutters.

The best and easy way is to use a garden hose with maximum pressure. The high-pressure water will do the job and clear the remaining debris.

Final Remarks

Gutter cleaning without proper tools and safety precautions can cause more severe problems than clogged gutters and injuries. But doing gutter cleaning following proper steps makes it a very easy task.

The frequency of gutter maintenance and the type of debris depends upon the location, weather, and landscaping near your home. While some areas are low maintenance, you can remove the clogs yourself. But in high maintenance areas like Maryland or New Jersey, it is advised to hire the professionals.

If you don’t have proper tools and safety, you must let the professionals do this clogged gutter cleaning task for you. Contact Ned Stevens to regularly get the best and most economical gutter maintenance services.