Your gutters play an essential role in keeping your roofing system intact. However, they cannot do their job when they become clogged with leaves, twigs, animal nests, and other debris. Here, review reasons to schedule gutter cleaning at least twice a year to keep the roof components free from damaging clogs.

Why Should You Make Gutter Cleaning a Regular Practice? 

1. Prevent Roof Leaks

When gutters become severely clogged, rainwater cannot flow from your roof and away from your home efficiently. Instead, rainwater can back up under roof shingles, leaving them and the underlying structure damaged. Trapped moisture under shingles promotes mold and mildew growth and can leak into your home, resulting in more mold growth as well as stained ceilings and walls.

2. Avoid Foundation Damage

Clogged gutters can cause rainwater to spill, flow down your home, and over your foundation. Water that infiltrates the foundation contributes to structural problems because the liquid undergoes freeze and thaw cycles in cooler temperatures. Subsequent expansions and contractions create foundation cracks.  

3. Keep Pests Away

Leaves, twigs, and other organic debris provide shelter and nesting material for a wide range of pests, including rats, ants, and mice. Any water trapped in the gutter system attracts mosquitoes that can carry the West Nile virus. Gutter cleaning also clears out tree seedlings, which can decompose and turn into plant material.

4. Promote Plant Health

Overflowing gutters saturate the soil around your home’s perimeter and waterlog any vegetation in the area. Too much water causes plants and flowers to drown, becoming yellow and unsightly in the process. Gutter cleaning avoids these issues to assist your gardening and lawn maintenance efforts.

5. Sidestep Basement Floods

As water pools around your home’s foundation from overflowing gutters, it can leak into your basement. Depending on the severity of the storm, your basement can start to flood and damage stored items, equipment, tools, and anything else you keep in the subterranean room. 

Schedule gutter cleaning in the spring and fall with Window Butler in Cincinnati, OH. The locally owned gutter, awning, and window cleaning company provides residents throughout the tri-state area with dependable, quality services, and is fully licensed and insured. Call (513) 375-5531 today to schedule an estimate or review the complete list of cleaning services online.