A Year-Round Task: Why Gutters Need to Be Cleaned

It’s important to clean your gutters, but how frequently should you clean them? Is once a week enough? How about two weeks? Gutter cleaning is a tedious but necessary task, which has to be done all year round.

Just because there’s less foliage in summer doesn’t mean you can clean your gutters with less frequency. Here are the seasonal factors that can clog your gutters and how a bit of preventative maintenance can help.

Winter

Clogged gutters aren’t homeowners’ main concern in winter. It’s cracked or detached gutters. The combined weight of ice and snow may cause your gutters to move away from the fascia and eventually detach. Ice dams are also a common problem. Walls of ice may form at the edges of your roof, usually near your gutters. Left unattended, these can cause roof leaks. Now, you might be thinking it would be better to break off the ice dams icicle by icicle. But don’t; you may end up causing more damage. Instead, simply wait for the ice to thaw. Gutters and roofing systems that were properly installed should have sufficient moisture protection. And, to minimize the risk of ice buildup in your gutters, make sure to clean them before the start of winter.

Spring

Winter has just ended, so you shouldn’t worry about foliage that may have ended up in your gutters, right? That’s true for deciduous trees, but not evergreens. Evergreen trees like pine trees shed their leaves throughout the year so you still need to check if any pine needles fell in your gutters.

Summer

Spring is the season where a lot of plants pollinate. The pollen, seedpods and pollen tassels that ended up in your gutters in spring may start to grow in summer. Remove weeds before they can do any damage to your gutters. Keep an eye out for summer storms as well; gale-force winds may blow all kinds of debris onto your gutters. The debris may damage other parts of your home as well, including your roof and siding. After the storms, it would be a good idea to have a roofing and siding contractor inspect your home.

Fall

As deciduous trees shed their leaves in preparation for winter, expect a lot of autumn leaves to end up in your gutters. Remember: cleaning your gutters before winter can minimize the risk of ice dam formations. Apart from regular cleaning, you need to have your gutters inspected before the start of every season. That way, signs of damage can be fixed before they worsen. Just make sure to hire a qualified contractor.

Looking for certified roofers in your area?

Rapid Roofing, a GAF Master Elite® and CertainTeed® certified contractor, offers a wide range of home improvement services, including gutter and siding installation services. To get a free estimate, call us at (734) 234-1174 or (269) 222-7171. You can also fill out the form on this page. We serve homeowners in Ann Arbor, MI.