How Often to Clean Gutters

It can be tricky to know how often to clean gutters, but we’ll shed some light on the right questions to ask to help you arrive at the best cleaning schedule to avoid costly water damage to your home or professional building.

The bottom line is, letting your gutters be “out of sight, out of mind” can cost you down the road, but the solution is within your reach.

What Homeowners and Business Owners Need to Know: How Often They Should Clean Gutters 

Gutters are built to carry water run-off from your roof to the ground and away from the construction materials that make up your home or work building – materials that are not intended to be soaked with water every time it rains. Your gutters need to be free of debris to keep your building safe from water damage.

You should expect to clean your gutters at least twice a year, especially after the leaves fall off the trees each late fall/early winter. Late spring is another ideal time to check for things that might damage your gutters.

But what if you live in an especially wooded area with lots of trees (and consequently, falling leaves and branches)? This and other factors can determine how often you or a gutter professional should be climbing a ladder and getting up close and personal with your gutters.

Here are the questions to ask when deciding how often to conduct gutter maintenance:

Is your building under pine trees or another kind of tree that sheds needles or leaves frequently?

If there are leaves or needles on the ground by your house, then it’s safe to assume there is debris in your gutters.

Have you had a storm recently?

It’s always a good idea to check your gutters after a severe storm.

Do you see ice form on your house or does snow pile up on your roof in winter?

Houses or buildings at a higher elevation can get gutter and roof damage when gutters fill with frozen water.

Have you recently spotted a roof leak or water spot in your ceiling?

Backed-up gutters will lead to pooling water on your roof, which can cause a leak that will eventually lead to water damage in your attic and/or ceiling. If you’ve recently had problems with water leaks, it’s definitely time to examine every foot of gutter you’ve got to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

Now that you know how often to keep an eye on your gutters, you should keep reading if you want to learn more about effective gutter cleaning.

What’s Involved With Cleaning Gutters & When You Should Call A Pro

To make sure you’re keen on what to look out for with gutters, read up on the signs that you have clogged gutters.

Additional problems in the form of pest/termite infestation and rotting building material issues can arise when gutters aren’t well cared for.

A lot of people picture debris removal as the entire cleaning regimen, but effective gutter cleaning includes 3 steps to keep gutters at their best:

1. Debris removal
2. Flushing gutters and downspouts with water
3. Securing any loose gutters or screws

Curious about the cost of professionally cleaning your gutters? We explain that here.

When to Call the Pros to Clean Your Gutters

If you feel unsure about using a ladder to reach all of the gutters on your house, or if your house is built more than 2-stories high or constructed in such a way that you would be traipsing a lot of your roof to clean your gutters, call a professional like Gutterman Services (if you’re in northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland area).

Gutterman Services offers you decades of combined team experience, exceptional work, a reliable local reputation, competitive pricing, and a customer loyalty program. See our gutter cleaning pricing below: