Loudoun County, Virginia Home Improvement

Many homeowners clean their gutters each year to properly maintain their homes. What you may not realize is that most Loudoun County gutter systems should be cleaned 3-4 times a year.

How to care for your gutters

A great number of Loudoun County homeowners clean their gutters once a year to correctly maintain their homes. What you may not know is that most Loudoun County gutter systems should be cleaned 3-4 times a year. A good rule of thumb is to go by is to clean your gutter system with every changing season. At first, you may be questioning why you should clean out your gutters so frequently. The reason is that each season trees enter various cycles in Loudoun County, each of which can obstruct your gutters. In the spring, the majority of trees drop seedlings and dead twigs. Spring is also the best time to examine your gutters for any damages that might have occurred during the winter snow. In the summer, trees are apt to lose leaves from heavy storms and high winds. In early fall, you should get rid of leaves that have fallen early to keep your gutters flowing freely. At the end of fall or early winter, you will want to make sure that everything has been correctly cleared from the gutter system to aid in preventing ice dams or buildup of ice in your gutters. The additional weight of water that is frozen in your gutters can simply cause them to separate from the fascia and in a good number of cases, rip away from the house. Improper gutter maintenance will generally lead to clogged or damaged gutters and can cause thousands of dollars in damage to your home.

To clean your gutters appropriately, use a heavy-duty ladder and ask a neighbor to assist you. If you do not own a ladder, consider borrowing one from a neighbor, or possibly renting one from a local rental center for as low as $40.00 a day. When using ladders, make sure that you avoid power lines, windows and trees. It's a smart and safe idea to use a ladder stabilizer to ensure the ladder does not crush your gutters or slip while conducting the cleaning. Remember that your safety is more significant than clean gutters, so make sure you get someone to assist you. Thousands of people die every year from falls and electrocution when working on ladders.

Be sure that gutter screens or gutter guards aren't damaged or clogged with leaves and branches. They won't help to shield the gutters if the water can't get into them properly and the water may only flow over them rendering them useless, even when the gutters are clean. Raise the guards to avoid damaging them and get rid of any leaves or debris underneath them and then reinstall them correctly. You should run water over them to ensure they are working properly. Examine your downspouts to see if they have screens at the top and clear them as well. Make use of a hose to clear any heavily clogged downspouts and make sure you replace any damaged gutter or downspout screens. When cleaning your gutters, inspect them to make sure the fasteners are aptly secured. This checkup can normally be done with a hammer, or in some cases a screwdriver.

You may discover that over time, the spikes that hold the aluminum to the fascia board have become loose. You ought to either drive the loose spikes back into place, or exchange them with longer ones for better support. When gutters become loose, the pitch changes and the water over-flows at lower areas. When securing the fasteners, examine your roof for missing shingles, cracked vent pipe gaskets or nails that are bare.