While it’s easy to take gutters for granted, proper gutter maintenance and prompt repairs are essential. Regular gutter maintenance and gutter repair help keep them flowing effectively and prevents damage to your home’s internal structure and foundation. Such damage can lead to expensive and time-consuming projects in the future.
Gutter maintenance should take place at various points throughout the year. Each season exposes your gutters to different conditions. Therefore, the type of maintenance and repair required depends on the time of year. The following guide explains which maintenance tasks for your Houston gutters need to be performed during each season.
Gutter Maintenance in Winter
In the winter, when the rain tends to turn to ice and snow, there is little that you can do for your gutter maintenance, but that doesn’t mean that you can take your gutters for granted when it is cold. It may not be safe for you to get up on a ladder during winter, but you can still perform an inspection from the ground.
The main gutter problems that you are looking for this time of year are icicles and ice dams. Icicles may look picturesque, but they may indicate that heat is escaping your home if they hang off the gutters. Left unchecked, this condition can also cause ice dams, thick ridges of ice that form along the eaves of your roof. Ice dams prevent gutters from draining properly, which can cause water to back up into your house. Ice dams are also heavy and may tear the gutters right off your roof.
Ice dams need to be cleared as soon as possible. This has to be accomplished the correct way, and it may not be safe for you to climb up on a ladder to take care of it yourself. Our technicians know how to clear ice dams and take care of this problem safely and effectively.
Gutter Maintenance in Spring
Once the gutters have thawed out in spring, it is time to perform a comparative assessment to see if the harsh winter weather caused any new damage. This step is particularly important if you had ice dams during the winter, in which case the damage may have extended to your roof structure or even into your attic.
When inspecting the gutters, look for the following common problems in particular:
- Loose downspouts
- Cracks
- Leaks, especially around the end cap
- Sagging
Some of these are relatively minor repairs that you may be able to perform yourself, but you probably want to hire professional help for some of the more complicated problems. Since sediment may have collected in your gutters over the winter, you may want to have them cleaned during the spring as well.
Gutter Repair in Summer
If you had competent gutter installation Houston in the first place, you usually need only relatively minor repairs from year to year. Nevertheless, weather conditions, falling limbs, and standing water can all do a number on gutters, which can become dented or loosen from the roof.
When gutters have come loose, sometimes it is possible to reattach them, but if the damage is more extensive, it may be necessary to have the gutters replaced completely. Installing new gutters is a big job that you might want to leave up to the professionals. Fortunately, the favorable summer weather should help the job go more quickly.
Gutter Cleaning in Fall
Gutters need cleaning at least once a year, and fall is often the best time to do it, especially if you have trees on your property that shed leaves and seeds. In addition to increasing your gutters’ life span and preventing the roof from leaking, regular cleaning also helps keep pests from making nests and seeds from sprouting in the gutters. Each is an ugly and dangerous situation.
To prevent the gutters from clogging, it’s important to clear them of all debris before freezing temperatures set in, at which point it may be too late to clean them until spring. When you call us for your free consultation, we can suggest the best time for a fall gutter cleaning.
We Offer Gutter Maintenance and Installation
Guardian Roofing excels at gutter system solutions. Find out more about all the gutter services we offer, or contact us if you’re ready to schedule your home’s gutter maintenance.
A Guide to Year-Round Gutter Maintenance for Your Houston Home | Guardian Roofing – Houston, TX
