The recent weather system brought us a considerable amount of rain – in some places as much as 1-1/2 inches. With the rain comes the potential for water finding places to go that can cause damage. To our delight a customer who just had The Gutter Cover installed this fall called our office to tell us she was pleasantly surprised not to have water in her basement. She said that although she kept her gutters cleaned in the past, whenever it rained, water would run into the basement. Her question was, “Why did The Gutter Cover make a difference?”
Although homeowners may regularly clean out their gutters, clogging can still occur from leaves, seeds or sticks. As it rains, even more leaves are caused to fall from nearby trees into the gutters. It only takes a handful of leaves to stop up a downspout opening. These can constantly blow into gutters even after they are freshly cleaned. Have you ever raked your yard and turned around to find it full of leaves again? If it’s in your yard it is probably in your gutter. Even if screens are installed debris can filter through the openings and clogs can form in the downspouts causing water to back up and overflow. Overflowing water not only can seep through foundation walls but can also rot the edges of a roof leading to costly repairs. Another problem is created when water is trapped in a gutter as it provides a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Now let’s look at what’s involved in cleaning gutters and downspouts. There’s the safety issue of working from a ladder which must be placed on a stable, level area and if possible have someone hold the ladder. You must keep moving the ladder around the house – never reach out too far to the left or right or you may end up on the ground and that could result in serious injury if not worse. Cleaning gutters is a messy job as you must scrape out the built up accumulation of leaves and twigs. Protective gear is a must to protect your hands and eyes. Once the debris is removed then the gutter should be flushed with water from the garden hose to rinse away anything left behind. And have you considered what’s required to clean a clogged downspout? If it can’t be cleared by a running hose then a plumbers snake needs to be run up the downspout to manually remove the clog. Are we having fun yet?
Gutter Cover will relieve you of all the hassle and trouble involved in gutter cleaning and help to eliminate many problems with your home. We cannot guarantee that water will never get into your basement but it will cut down on the likelihood of it happening as The Gutter Cover allows water to flow freely through the gutters, downspouts and away from your home and foundation
