Why You Need Professional Help to Maintain the Gutters on Your Houston Property

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by Kyle Ray

How often do you think about gutter cleaning in Houston? They’re probably not at the top of your priority list as a homeowner or business owner, and yet their condition can have significant consequences. When you maintain gutters on a property, you’re protecting it from harm.

Why Do You Need to Maintain Gutters?

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Gutters are non-assuming, so it’s easy to forget about them — until there’s an issue. If you fail to maintain gutters, you may have to spend a lot of money to clean up the ensuing mess.

Cluttered Gutters Devalue Your Home

Curb appeal is essential if you’re selling your home, and clogged drains don’t do your house any favors. Potential buyers may even worry about roof problems, which can drive down the price.

Even if the property in question is a business, cluttered gutters can affect customers’ perception of your establishment. Any way you look at it, a pristine gutter system is better than an over-flowing, gunked-up one.

Puddles Can Damage Your Foundation

Downspouts ensure water is directed safely away from your home where the ground can absorb it without issue. However, water may spill over the side and puddle dangerously close to your walls when you have clogged gutters. If this happens, the moisture can seep into the foundation, causing instability and expensive repairs. If you have a basement, you may also experience flooding.

Moisture Can Attract Pests

Moisture can attract all sorts of pests:

  • Birds
  • Squirrels
  • Mice

Dampness is also notorious for attracting termites, which can decimate a home before you even realize there’s a problem. If gutter issues persist for too long, you may need to call an exterminator as well as a cleaning crew.

Water May Accumulate on Your Roof

If water can’t flow through the downspout, it may start accumulating on your roof. These puddles can cause all sorts of issues:

  • Water seeping under and loosening shingles
  • Mold and mildew growing in the moisture-rich environment
  • Leaks during rainstorms

Your Gutters Can Pull Away From the Eaves

Most gutter systems are attached to the eaves with brackets designed to support the weight of the aluminum plus rushing rainwater. However, bloated leaves, mud, mold, and other debris can weigh much more than the brackets can handle. When this happens, the gutter starts to pull away from the eaves, putting strain on the roof.

In the worst-case scenario, the brackets can break and send a cascade of water all over your yard. At that point, your system is beyond repair and you have a huge mess to clean up.

Moisture Can Make Its Way into Your Property’s Interior

If water gets under your shingles, it’s a whole other ball game. Leaks in your roof can cause the interior wooden structures to rot, making the building unstable. Moisture in the walls can also cause unseen mold, which is harmful to your health and expensive to remove.

Why Hire Professionals to Maintain Your Gutters?

You can undoubtedly maintain gutters on your own, but this chore is hard work and potentially dangerous. Instead, it’s better to trust professionals.

It’s Convenient for You

When you hire professional gutter cleaning services, you don’t have to lift a finger. Instead, you get to relax on your day off or focus on more important tasks.

Cleaning out gutters requires manually removing leaves, twigs, and other debris, much of which has rotted or otherwise degraded. It’s not pretty work, but someone has to do it. And when you schedule professionals, that someone isn’t you.

You Can Save Money on Cleaning Equipment

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Yes, when you hire professional gutter cleaning services, you’re paying for the technicians’ labor. But you’re also not paying for equipment. Thorough gutter cleaning requires several tools:

  • Scrapers
  • Heavy-duty gloves
  • Buckets
  • Power washing equipment
  • Hoses

If there’s an issue with the system, you’d also need the appropriate tools for repair. Sure, you can buy all of that, but you’ll probably only use them twice a year at most. Is that really worth the investment? Probably not. In contrast, a professional team uses their equipment every day and has industrial-grade tools, which helps them get the job done faster.

The Job Is Thoroughly Done by Pros

Since a professional team has more powerful tools, they can reach all spots that are tricky to reach.  They’ll also take care of all the junk accumulated in the gutters, so you don’t have to worry about handling slimy leaves. While you’ll obviously do a great job cleaning your gutters, a professional team can achieve standards you might not have thought possible.

You Can Get a Heads-Up on Issues

Regular maintenance is the number one way to prevent massive problems later on. For starters, it ensures that worn and broken parts get replaced before they give way completely. Additionally, professionals are trained to spot early warning signs, which lets you intervene before a problem develops. If you clean the gutters yourself, you may miss these subtle yet essential indications.

Professionals Put Safety First

Cleaning gutters means getting up on a ladder. While not the most dangerous task, it still requires caution. After all, a fall from the second story can cause significant injury, which is why we advise leaving the climbing to the professionals. Trained technicians work with ladders and heights daily, so they’re used to the process and familiar with safety procedures.

What Are the Signs You Need to Maintain Your Gutters?

It’s best to maintain gutters twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall. Spring rains can fill systems with debris, while shedding trees may clog them in the fall. If you have a lot of foliage around your home, you may have to clean your gutters more frequently.

Of course, you may also need to perform maintenance beyond these bi-annual cleanings. The following are signs that you need to get your gutter system looked at.

You Notice Algae or Plant Growth on your Gutters

If there’s green in your gutters, it’s way past time to clean them out. Plants and algae can only thrive in moist environments, which means there’s plenty of water in your gutter system. That water poses a considerable risk to your property, so you should hire professional gutter cleaning services to clear out the junk and check if any damage was done.

The Gutters Are Sagging

Does something about your gutter system not look right? If you notice your gutters are lower than they should be or leaning away from the building, you may be in trouble. Sagging gutters are one of the last symptoms of a clogged system before the whole thing goes.

There’s Overflow over the Sides

If you look outside your window and see a waterfall, something is wrong with your gutters. Water spills over the sides when the system gets too full, creating a cascade of rain, dirt, and other debris.

You See Staining on the Exterior Walls

Water stains on the exterior walls are a sure sign you need gutter cleaning services. These ugly marks happen when water seeps from the roof down the walls and may be the tip of the iceberg.

Gutter Cleaning Houston

What Should You Look for in a Company That Maintains Gutters?

Before searching for “gutter cleaning services near me,” you must figure out what you need from a gutter cleaning company. Ideally, the business should be dedicated to servicing commercial and residential gutter systems in the Houston area.

So, how can you tell if the company is right for you? You should take a look at its website and customer reviews. When customers have great experiences, they’re not shy about sharing, so look through testimonials to determine if your prospective gutter cleaning team does the following.

They Go the Extra Mile

True professionals go the extra mile for their customers because a job well done can’t compare to a job phenomenally done. For a gutter-cleaning business, that means spotless work and open communication about the state of your system.

They’re a One-Stop-Shop

The technicians you hire should be able to do it all:

  • Cleaning
  • Repair
  • Installation
  • Maintenance

Why is this important? If the company you hire finds an issue with your system, but can’t fix it, then you have to do research all over again. There’s also a delay in repair, which can affect the condition of your property. When you find a company that offers comprehensive services, you get timely repairs and peace of mind.

They’re Experienced

While new businesses may offer excellent service, they’re not tried and true. Experience on the job can go a long way — for example, it can help technicians figure out the most efficient way to clean and develop a keen eye for potential problems.

They’re Passionate at Pressure Washing

It’s not rocket science — people who love their jobs give better customer service than people who don’t. If you want top-notch work, you should look for a company that genuinely cares about helping homeowners and business owners keep their property clean and safe.

If you need gutter cleaning in Houston, look no further than Geek Window Cleaning. Our affordable services let you relax while we keep your windows and gutter systems pristine. For more information or to get an estimate, contact us online or call us at (713) 581-4963.

Why You Need Professional Help to Maintain the Gutters on Your Houston Property | Geek Window Cleaning