Gut health is more than just the state of your digestive tract. Having a healthy gut impacts your entire body, including your brain and mood.
Clogged gutters can cause damage to your house. They also create the perfect habitat for insects and critters. The rotting leaves provide an easy food source, which draws in all kinds of unwanted guests.
1. Invest in a Gutter Guard
Gutter guards prevent clogging from leaves and debris by keeping them out of the gutter. Clogged gutters aren’t just unsightly; they can lead to a host of problems for your home including mold, mildew, and water damage. Gutter guards not only protect you from these costly problems but they also save you time and money by removing the need to clean your gutters.
One of the biggest benefits of installing gutter guards is that it eliminates the need to get on a ladder. Being on a ladder for extended periods of time can be dangerous, especially if you’re not familiar with using one or don’t have the right equipment for the job. Gutter guards are usually fitted in place of traditional gutters and can be installed by a professional or DIY. They can be bought in a wide range of colors to match your home, and they will keep your gutters free of debris for years to come.
Another benefit of investing in gutter guards is that they can help reduce the risk of pests making their homes in your gutters. Critters love to hide and breed in the nooks and crannies of clogged gutters, which are an attractive location for mosquitoes, mice, and other unwanted pests. Having your gutters filled with stagnant water also poses a fire hazard. Gutter guards will make it much more difficult for pests to use your gutters as their home, and they can help to minimize the need to have these animals removed from your property.
Gutter guards can also help to prevent ice dams, which are created when water from the roof melts, flows down into the gutters, and then refreezes. This can cause your gutters to sag, pull away from the house, and even collapse. Gutter guards can help to ensure that melting snow and ice drains properly from the gutters, and it will be impossible for it to freeze in places where there is excess debris or a clog. This can save you a lot of money and inconvenience in the long run, and it is an excellent way to ensure that your gutters don’t clog or overflow during wintertime.
2. Use a Leaf Blower
Leaf blowers make quick work of sweeping away leaves and debris from your yard. They can also be useful for removing large piles of snow from sidewalks, driveways, and walkways. You can even use them to blow mud or clay from your garden beds or patios.
It’s also easier on your body than raking by hand. Spending extended time hunched over and pumping your arms back and forth can be very hard on your back, wrists, and neck. Using a leaf blower eliminates the need for these manual actions and can save you a lot of energy and discomfort.
They can also be used to quickly clear out the debris from garden beds, clearing away weeds and allowing you to replant your flowers or vegetables easily. A good leaf blower can also be helpful in getting rid of puddles after rainstorms, as it will disperse them very quickly, without leaving the lawn wet or muddy.
Leaf Blowers also have the advantage of being able to reach areas that are covered in rock, gravel, or mulch. You can often get to spaces that are inaccessible by rake or mower, including areas around the base of your trees and in corners of your sheds and garages.
Finally, if you’re considering purchasing a leaf blower, consider also getting a vacuum mode, or “blower vac,” which can turn your leaf blower into a powerful gardening tool that sucks up the debris and deposits it in a waste compartment for easy disposal. This feature is particularly useful for getting into tight spaces, such as around the bases of shrubs and plants.
It’s important to remember that a leaf blower, like any power tool, can be harmful if not used correctly. For example, if you’re not wearing hearing protection while using one, the noise level can be up to 100 decibels, which is high enough to cause permanent hearing loss. It’s also important to keep in mind that although gas-powered small engines produce some air pollution, equipment manufacturers have been working hard for decades now to reduce their emissions — and the amount of noise produced by leaf blowers in particular.
3. Hire a Gutter Cleaning Company
Gutter cleaning is one of the most important steps to keep your home’s roof, siding and foundation healthy. However, it can be a difficult task to do properly and safely. If you are not comfortable with climbing a ladder and handling a power washer, it is best to hire a professional gutter cleaning company. They will not only clean your gutters but also help you prevent clogs and water damage to your property in the future.
Gutters are designed to guide rainwater away from the house, but they can easily become clogged with leaves, debris and shingle grit. These materials can cause serious damage to the roof and walls of your house if they are not removed in time. Moreover, clogged gutters can overflow and damage the foundation of your home. This can lead to expensive foundation repairs and rotted fascia boards. Therefore, it is important to regularly monitor your gutter system and clean them whenever necessary.
It is recommended to clean your gutters twice a year, in the spring and fall. This is because these seasons are when your gutters are most likely to get clogged. During spring, pollen, wayfaring seeds, and leaves are floating around in the air, and they can easily get stuck in your gutters. Furthermore, during the summer, thunderstorms bring strong winds that can rip the leaves off the trees and slam them into your roof and gutters.
In addition to the regular cleaning, you should also hire a professional gutter contractor to trim overhanging branches and shrubs. They can also use a pressure washer to remove dirt, mold, and grime from the gutters and downspouts. In addition, they can flush out the downspout with a hose to make sure it is not clogged with dirt or other particles. This can protect your gutters from ice dams in winter and prevent standing water from overflowing and damaging your home’s foundation. In addition, it can also help to eliminate mosquitoes and other pests that breed in standing water.
4. Schedule a Gutter Inspection
Gutters are important to your home, but they can become clogged with debris that needs to be removed regularly. If you don’t take the time to clean them, water will overflow and may damage your siding, roof, foundation, or walls. This can be a costly and inconvenient problem, but it can be easily avoided by scheduling regular gutter inspections.
In addition to cleaning debris, gutter inspections can catch problems with the gutters themselves before they cause major damage. For example, if you notice rust or cracks in the gutters, these need to be addressed promptly to prevent further damage and water leaks. During a gutter inspection, it’s also important to check the gutter hangers and fasteners to ensure they are secure and not pulling away from the house.
While using a gutter guard and cleaning with a trowel or scoop can help to reduce the need for frequent cleaning, it is still important to schedule regular inspections. This will allow you to catch and repair any issues before they become severe, which will save you money in the long run.
It’s recommended that you schedule a gutter inspection at least twice a year, once in spring and once towards the end of fall. This is because these seasons are when the most debris is likely to accumulate in the gutters, due to wild weather that rips leaves off trees and flings them into the roof and gutters.
Another benefit of scheduling regular gutter inspections is that it can help to avoid a pest infestation. If debris gathers in the gutters, it becomes a breeding ground for insects and rodents. This can be a serious health concern for you and your family, and it is also expensive to get rid of the pests once they have settled in.
A final benefit of scheduling regular gutter inspections is to make sure that the downspouts are properly draining and diverting water away from the property. When the gutters are clogged, they cannot drain and will overflow, causing problems with your landscaping and the foundation of your home.