Gutter cleaning is an essential part of your home maintenance. If you want your roof and attic to be a good condition, you must make sure that your home gutter is clean and healthy. If you have experienced cleaning the gutter yourself, you must know how difficult it can be. However, despite the difficult regime, you must clean the gutter system at least twice a year. You may not be able to recognize the clogged drain during a sunny day. It can cause trouble when the downpour starts just after a snowfall. You can either take the task yourself or even call up the gutter cleaning service in Portland.
So, are you all set up to start cleaning the gutter system? If you are a new homeowner and are looking forward to gutter cleaning, here are some eminent options to go through. We have compiled some of the easiest ways to clean gutters with eminent tips and tricks to make the process safer for you.
Why Should You Need a Gutter Cleaning?
Cleaning the gutter system is one of the best ways to keep your gutter and roof in its best health. When rainwater or snow accumulates on the roof, it can make the gutter sag, ultimately leading to pressure on the roof. Also, it can cause corrosion to the gutter system and can damage your roof with mold.
To sum up, experts have mentioned three essential reasons why you should need a gutter cleaning service in Portland regularly.
- Gutter cleaning will reduce water damage to the eaves
- It will reduce water damage to the foundation and the sides
- Cleaning will also eliminate winter ice dams
When you keep clean gutters, it will keep your gutter system as well as the roof and foundation of the house healthy for a much longer time.
Essential Accessories to Clean Gutter System
Cleaning the gutter system is a difficult task. So, you cannot accomplish the task simply by using a ladder and a mop. Dirt and clogs can be of different types. So, the treatment of cleaning will be also different. You will notice that professionals of a gutter cleaning service in Portland come up with different tools for the process.
If you are doing it all alone, you will require the right accessories depending on the dirt and clog that you have in the gutter system. Here are some common and essential gutter cleaning tools that you might require for the process.
- A reliable ladder
- Garden hose or power washer
- Leaf blower
- Vacuum cleaner
- Hand trowel
- Cleaning Solution
- Gloves
- Eye Protection
While these are some basic tools, when you call the gutter cleaning service in Portland, the experts come prepared with many more high-end tools and accessories for the process.
Cleaning Tips and Tricks for Home Gutter System
Now that you know the importance of cleaning a gutter system, you should know the various cleaning tips and tricks too. Here are some of the easiest ways to clean your gutters more safely that the experts of a gutter cleaning service in Portland suggests.
Learn Ladder Tricks First
Safety is the most essential thing that you must practice while cleaning your home gutter. A ladder is one mandatory item that you must have to reach up to the roof to clean the gutter. Each year, there are so many accidents that happen because the homeowner fell from the ladder while cleaning gutters. So, you must first learn about the ladder safety tricks to clean your gutter system on the roof.
Place the ladder on a plain surface to avoid any disbalance during cleaning. If you have to place the ladder on an uneven surface, you can use a stabilizer to place your ladder.
One of the major mistakes that many people make is to try to reach out to far places from their current position. If you lose balance in such a case, you will fall from the ladder, getting hurt. So, to reach out to far places, move your ladder to a proper place first. However, if you are not good at handling ladders, go for the gutter cleaning service in Portland instead.
Work in Partnership
Even when you have a stable ladder position and all the required accessories, you must not accomplish the task alone. Gutter cleaning is difficult and risky. So, you must always have a partner to help you during the cleaning process.
Also, with the help of a partner, you can speed up the cleaning process. Gutter cleaning can get time-consuming depending on the type of dirt and clogs you have. If the clog is too much, you may have to spend extra minutes in the cleaning process. When you have a partner in the cleaning process, it can speed up the cleaning process.
Apart from this, a partner means an extra pair of eyes. So, while you are focused on the cleaning, the partner can notice the unseen and can protect you from various accidents. So, having a partner in the cleaning process will keep you safe and will also save time. If you stay alone, opt for the gutter cleaning service in Portland.
Remove the Debris First
Before you start the actual cleaning of the gutter system, take some time to remove the debris from the roof first. Often debris such as dry leaves and twigs get clogged in the drain to cause even further problems. So, an ideal step is to remove the debris first. You can use several ways to remove the debris from the roof to keep your gutter drain clogged.
One of the most efficient and easiest ways is to use a vacuum cleaner. Use the vacuum cleaner to pull in all the dry leaves and other debris from the roof. You can even use a leaf blower to get rid of a heavy pile of dry leaves after a wind or storm.
If you do not have these tools, a broom is another essential gutter cleaner tool to wipe away the debris and collect it somewhere. Once the roof is free from such debris, cleaning the gutter becomes much easier and more convenient. Also, experts of a gutter cleaning service in Portland will suggest getting rid of such debris after every heavy wind to keep your gutter system free from clogs.
Clear Clogs
Another eminent step to clean your gutter system is to clear the drainage clogs. Often after a wind or storm, dry leaves, twigs, and other debris clog the drainage of the gutter system. If you do not clean the clog, water will remain accumulated on the system, sagging the gutter and causing mold infection on the roof. Hence, you must take notice of such clogs and must take eminent steps to clear them. Similar to removing debris, clearing of clogs can be done in several ways.
One of the best ways is to use pressure to snake down the debris throughout the pipeline. You can use a garden hose with higher water pressure to get this work done. For rigid clogs, you can also use a power washer for the process.
Many homeowners also use drain cleaners as the final solution to clear the clog. These are usually chemicals that the users pour into the drain and then leave for some time to react. Afterward, a power hose is used to release water at high pressure to clean the clog. The use of these chemicals is mostly helpful in rigid clogs or where you can notice stains in the drain area.
But you should be aware of the proper usage of the tools and chemicals while dealing with rigid clogs, or else you may even damage the gutter. It is better to call the gutter cleaning service in Portland if you are not sure of the situation well.
Clear out the Surroundings
While cleaning the gutter system is necessary, avoiding any debris on the roof is even more necessary. So, one of the best ways is to keep an eye on your surroundings a bit. If you notice excessive plantations near your house, try to trim down the tree leaves and branches. When the sources of the debris are cleared out or reduced, you will get less debris on the roof. Of course, when you have less debris on the roof, the chances of the drain getting clogged get much reduced. Also, with less debris, you get much lower stains on the gutter frame.
While it is an ideal thing to keep the heights of the nearby trees and plantations shorter always, you should pay special attention before the onset of a storm. Also, you must make a routine to trim down the trees before the spring and the autumn season. These are the seasons when the wind carries dry leaves, and other elements to accumulate on surfaces such as house roofs. Paying special attention during such times can help you to keep the roof clean and also keep the gutter system clean.
When the drain of the gutter system is free from clogs, you can simply rinse thoroughly the gutter for dust and make it work smoothly again.
Gutter Guards - A Great Help
While cleaning the gutter system can solve the issue of clogs, it can still cause issues in certain places. At locations, where rain and storms are unpredictable, you may have to spend days cleaning the gutter. When you are not ready for a storm and debris pile up on the roof, causing sudden clogs, it can cause a real mess. For such cases, you must use preventive measures. The use of gutter guards has been a great thought in such cases.
Gutter guards are installed over the gutter system that holds dry leaves and other debris, letting just pure water pass through the gutter. Of course, you have to clean the gutter guards from time to time to get rid of the debris. However, the chances of clogged drains are reduced to a great extent. Also, gutter guards are known to extend the longevity of the gutter system to a great extent. Talk to a gutter cleaning service in Portland to understand the type of gutter guard that will be suitable for your gutter system.
Today, there is an endless list of options when you are out there to shop for gutter guards. How do you know which is the appropriate one for you? You must choose the gutter guards based on their effectiveness, maintenance, and budget. If you are confused about which gutter guard is the best for your home gutter, you can always get help from the gutter cleaning service in Portland. The professionals will reach out to you to diagnose the problem areas and then will discuss with you in detail to suggest a gutter guard that suits your requirements and budget the most.
Test the Gutter System Regularly
As the gutter system is installed on the rooftop, you cannot notice the condition daily. So, how do you know that the gutter system is clean and free from clogs? One of the best ways is to test the gutter system. You can do so with the help of a power hose. Target the drain of the gutter system to check the flow of the water through the downspout. If the outflow of water is fine, the gutter drain is also in great shape. However, if there is something stuck, the water pressure is one such best tool for cleaning dirty gutters and unclogging the drain.
If you think that the water pressure is not able to clear the clog and the outflow of water is not great, it is time to use other alternatives such as chemicals and other tools. At times, wrong installation can also cause trouble for which you may have to call the gutter cleaning service in Portland.
Call the Experts
Half of the homeowners clean their gutter systems DIY. However, it is a possible job until you are sure that it is working well. If you think that the water outflow is not great even after several cleaning sessions, it is time to get expert help. While there are so many tools and chemicals that you can use, the experts know the right way to use them. Often it is not about the items you are using, rather it is about the experience that the gutter cleaning service in Portland are putting in.
So, if you have a feeling that your cleaning technique has failed, you should not hesitate to search for gutter cleaning near me. The professionals are experienced enough to diagnose the gutter system well and then come up with a solution that will really work. Also, cleaning rigid stains and clogs can get quite dangerous. The experts bring strong chemicals to treat the clogs. At the same time, they also bring in safety kits to work with proper safety.
When you have a healthy gutter system, you also have a healthy roof. So, even when you believe in yourself to clean your gutter, it is no harm to call the experts for regular inspection sometimes. Getting in touch with the gutter cleaning service in Portland will help you with great cleaning results and also can prepare you to manage upcoming gutter challenges better.