Spring has sprung…but are your gutters clean?

Cleaning out your gutters isn’t difficult, it’s a matter of remembering to do it!

Your rain gutters not only protect your home’s landscaping and siding, gutters also prevent damage to your home’s foundation. When gutters fill with leaves, sticks and other debris, this can cause clogs and result in water creeping under the roof and sometimes, into the foundation. Clogged gutters can also lead to ice dams in the winter. That is why it is important to be cleaning out your gutters a minimum of once a year. (More often if you have overhanging trees and after a big storm.)

So, here are some helpful tips on HOW TO CLEAN GUTTERS …

• Make sure you place a good sturdy extendable ladder on a sturdy surface.
• Wear a long-sleeved shirt and gloves as cleaning gutters is a dirty job.
• To remove all gunk from gutters, use a small plastic gutter scoop available at hardware stores or a sandbox shovel.
• Spread a tarp under your work area to collect all gutter gunk and to protect your yard.
• Once all debris is removed, flush the gutter and downspouts with the hose to clear out remaining debris and to determine if there are any leaks.

Once your gutters are cleared, the next step is to check your downspout for clogs. Take your hose and insert it through the bottom of the downspout and spray upward into the spout. This should remove any clogs and allow water to pass through freely.