5 Reasons to clean your gutters twice a year :
Protect Your Foundation
One of the most important functions of gutters is to direct water runoff. Inspecting and cleaning your gutters regularly ensures that water is properly flowing away from the building.
If water is drained from the roof but pools around your building, you could be at risk of flooding or damage to your foundation. Cleaning and inspecting your gutters twice a year ensures that your gutters are serving all their purposes and keeping your foundation intact.
Prevent Roof Collapse
Gutters that aren’t properly cleared during the autumn season can be full of leaves and debris, leading to serious structural issues down the line. Once winter hits, snow will accumulate on your roof, while the clogged gutters act like a plug in a bathtub to contain all the snow, ice, and water weight above your building.
Monitoring your roof throughout winter months is important, but the first step is clearing your gutters to ensure water has the ability to drain. Otherwise, your ceiling could be damaged and the lifespan of your roof could be significantly shortened.
Keep Pests Away
In late fall and early spring, if your gutters are full of debris, it may act as the ideal environment for bugs and rodents. Cleaning your gutters twice a year prevents your business from inadvertently becoming a breeding ground for vermin.
This is especially crucial for restaurants, as pests that inhabit your gutters could not only cause damage to your building, but also to your reputation as a sanitary establishment.
Reduce Fire Hazards
When debris from trees ends up in your gutters and dries, it can be highly combustible. If embers ignite that debris, it could expose your roofing or possibly the interior of your ceiling, leading to serious damage.
While this situation is particularly uncommon, it is nonetheless an easily-preventable risk.
Protect Your Gutters
One of the easiest assets to overlook when it comes to cleaning your gutters is the gutters themselves. As we’ve outlined above, they play an important role in protecting your building from all kinds of damage, and neglecting to clean them with the frequency they need can reduce their lifespan.
But gutters are also expensive to replace. Surprise repair expenses like gutter replacement could make or break your bottom line. It becomes especially frustrating when you realize that your own procrastination or negligence resulted in such significant monetary losses. As with a car, routine maintenance is the easiest way to ensure smooth sailing with your gutters.