Spring Clean your gutters? As the nights get noticeably lighter and the rain finally stops, take a moment to do a quick visual inspection of your gutters from the ground as you cut the grass or wash the car. Gutters perform an important function on your home, diverting the rain water away from wooden fascia boards, walls, and other surfaces. If they are not doing this important job, your home could be at risk from damp, rot, green algae and in extreme cases, subsiding patio, paths or even walls.
How to tell if your gutters need cleaning
Moss on the patio
Need to clean your gutters? One sure way to tell is if the birds are dropping moss from your gutters as they look for insects and prepare their nests. You’ll see lumps of moss on your conservatory roof or patio. The moss will have been dislodged probably from your roof, and as a rule, one side is always worse than the other so be sure to have a good walk round.
Debris in the gutters
Sometimes you might see lumps of moss, leaves or other debris hanging over the gutter edge. If this is visible from the ground, the gutters are likely to be pretty full. Our camera systems can check from the ground.
Overfowing gutters
Sometimes you can’t even see what might be causing a blockage. We’ve seen tennis balls blocking downpipe openings in gutters, they fit perfectly! More common is a build up of moss or leaves. Sometimes this is not even visible from the ground, but in heavy rain, water overflows the gutters and drips or runs onto your property.
Visible growth
Lots of our work comes from people noticing greenery in the gutters. Grass loves to grow in gutters, and we’ve seen weeds grow up to a metre high in just a couple of months. Once a root becomes established, it collects more grit, dirt moss, along with a steady supply of water, and combined with a little sunshine, grows upwards and along. In extreme cases, we have seen a lawn fill the entire run of the guttering, from one end of the home to the other. The weight of this, especially after rain can be too much for the plastic brackets that hold the guttering. The brackets are only designed to hold a small amount of water as it runs away to the down pipe.
If you need your gutters professionally inspected and cleared, please give us a call on 0800 112 0123.