Right now, it’s November – the middle of fall. The leaves are turning beautiful colors, they’re falling and making piles to jump in, but they also could be clogging up your gutters. Now, more than ever, the question of how often gutters should be cleaned is likely top of mind. While there’s no one exact answer that applies to every house, we have some helpful information to provide.

Why clean your gutters:

To start, it’s important to quickly explain why gutter cleaning is an important maintenance task. Unmaintained gutters can lead to clogged gutters and downspouts, which results in standing water. This water mixed with leaves and other debris becomes a place where mold can grow and unwanted critters can make their home. Further, this standing water can also soak up in the shingles and cause the roof to leak, or it can pour off too close to the home’s foundation and cause the foundation to crack.

The variables:

Some key variables to take into account when figuring out what’s right for your home:

·       What kind of trees do you have? (ie, pine trees tend to shed faster than others)

·       How many trees do you have near your home?

·       How close are the trees to your home?

·       How tall is your home in relation to your trees? (trees that are taller than the gutters mean more debris buildup, and vice versa)

The bottom line:

We recommend 2 cleaning cycles: once mid-October and again early in December when all the leaves are off the trees. If your house is one that has several large trees above it, you may want to pay close attention in the fall and add in an extra cleaning or two. However, for most homes, this 2-cleaning cycle should do the trick!

If you have any further questions for us, would like help cleaning your gutters, or are interested in having Gutter Guards installed (to prevent the debris build-up), give us a call. We’d love to help!