Poorly maintained or clogged gutters can cause damage of varying degrees of cost, depending on the severity of the situation. To give you an idea of the importance of inspecting, cleaning and regularly maintaining your eavestroughs, here are the main types of damage that can occur as a result of clogged eavestroughs.
What are the consequences of clogged gutters?
Clogged gutters can have more or less serious consequences for your home. Here are just a few examples.
– Poor drainage of rainwater
With a clogged drainage system, rainwater will have trouble draining properly. This can lead to overflows all along the edge of your roof. Over time, water spilling onto the yard or along the wall can cause drainage problems because of the excessive flow, flooding your exterior.
– Risk of water infiltration
The main risk caused by clogged eavestroughs is water infiltration. This is because water can no longer be drained away via the pipes, so it will seek other exits and find its way between the joints and fittings of your roof. Water infiltration will then occur, causing relatively severe damage to the structure of the house. If you don’t detect this infiltration in time, it can practically weaken your home, causing exorbitant repair costs.
– Frost accumulation in gutters in winter
Water that is not evacuated will remain in the gutters. With the onset of winter, it will begin to freeze, weighing down the pipes and weakening the fasteners. The snow will also accumulate on the ice, making the whole thing even heavier.
– Inability to recover rainwater
Clogged gutters won’t allow you to collect rainwater optimally. This is a considerable loss, especially if you rely heavily on this water recovery system during the dry seasons.
How can you prevent your gutters from clogging?
To prevent your eavestroughs from becoming completely clogged, here’s what you need to do.
– Cut down trees too close to your gutters
Falling leaves are the main cause of clogged gutters. If you have trees growing relatively close to your home, be sure to control their height so they don’t exceed the height of your gutters. So when the leaves fall, there’s little risk of them landing in your drains.
– Inspect your eavestroughs regularly
Next, it’s a good idea to inspect your eavestroughs regularly to see for yourself any dirt that may have accumulated. That way, you won’t have to wait for drainage problems to arise before cleaning the ducts.
– Calling in professionals for cleaning
To inspect, clean and maintain your gutters, it’s advisable to call in specialized professionals. This kind of work at height is quite dangerous and requires the right equipment and precise know-how. Not only will the professionals clean your ducts, they will also assess their state of deterioration and repair them.
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