Why You Need a Gutter Guard
Self-cleaning your gutters is a time consuming, dangerous task. If you choose not to go through this experience, you will end up paying a fortune to someone else to do it for you. Either way, cleaning out your gutters is not enjoyable. One way to eliminate this experience is to install a gutter protection system, such as a gutter guard (or leaf guard).
Having a gutter system around your home is essential for good home maintenance. According to an article on the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate website,
“The purpose of a gutter system is to help control the flow of water from the roof to the ground, preventing rain damage to the exterior of the home, erosion, and to help protect the landscaping from washing away.”
This is why it is so vital to maintaining well-conditioned gutters and keeping them debris free.
But why you should clean your gutters....
When your gutters are not protected, they can become clogged from debris such as pine needles, tree branches, dirt and other obstructions, causing the water to back up onto your roof, which may cause permanent water damage to your home. This is especially prevalent during the winter season, when there is heavy rain and snow fall, which affects the drain, as well as the gutter structure. When gutters are clogged and the water has no way to drain, the weight can strain the structure and will cause it to tear away from the house. The excess water can also cause wood to rot, interior home damage, and foundation problems.
Gutter guards eliminate the problems associated with trying to clean your gutters by yourself, as manual cleaning is not very effective, as it’s a temporary fix. Many people have become seriously injured while trying to accomplish this task. Yet they have to repeat the process year after year, because without a gutter guard, the gutters will continue to clog.
According to an article written by Matt Myers with Service Magic, after talking to contractors all over the country to see what prices for gutter cleaning were, “they found that the highest rate was around $150 and the lowest rate was around $35.”
Consider This
Considering the cost of hiring a handy man to clean out the gutters, the dangers in doing it yourself, and the temporary and ineffective results of gutter cleaning; gutter guards are the absolute best way to go. By adding a gutter guard system to your home, you would drastically reduce or eliminate the amount of necessary maintenance, saving you time and money, as well as potential injury. Other benefits of a gutter guard system you may not know about include the following:
- They stop your gutters from prematurely rusting from the moisture within the debris just sitting in them.
- They help to stop blockages that cause water to back up and overflow into your home.
- They stop insects and vermin, such as mosquito’s, mice, cockroaches and spiders from breeding inside the gutters by reducing the stagnate water that forms with clogged gutters.
- They act as a barrier for rodents such as rats, birds and possums who also like to breed inside gutters.
- They help keep dry material away from the roof, which is extremely important in areas prone to fires.
- Heated guards help eliminate ice dams in colder temperatures.
- Lastly, a more modern use for gutter guards is for use in rain harvesting, by improving the flow of water, and filtering out more contaminants for cleaner water in your storage tanks, gutter guards have become a useful tool in this process.
So, if you want to protect your home, reduce your gutter maintenance, eliminate safety issues and reduce your stress, then consider a gutter guard for your home.