Treating gut(ter) indigestion

• Posted on November 10, 2019
• by mikew
• in Fix It & Use It
• No Comments.

Some of you started reading this with concern – I’ll give Mike one paragraph and he better not gross me out. Some of you have dealt with some intestinal issues and thought a home inspector’s perspective might be helpful. And still others of you enjoyed my play on words and hoped more cleverness was to come. Disappointment is ahead, but the metaphor will give you a memorable prompt to clean out your gutters!

Now is the time that your roof gutters are constipated with leaves, tree droppings and decaying organic material. If you don’t help clear them, they are going to back up leave a watery mess all around your yard. And that leads to a lot of other issues. No pill or creamy liquid is going to wash the blockages free. You’ll need to put on some rubber gloves and… (I’ll stop there!)

A few points:

1. Even Leaf Guard and Helmet and Shield and Defense (and whatever other name brand gutter you have) needs to be cleaned inside and out. The picture below shows gutters from a recent inspection filled with decaying leaves. These are not easy gutters to clean out on the inside.
2. Cleaning gutters is a great task to hire out to a professional. Ladder falls are the easiest and best way to interrupt your holiday plans. It is cheaper to pay a gutter cleaner than a medical co-pay!
3. A wet-dry shop vac is a great way to clean your gutters and contain the mess. It is best to do this on a dry day though.
4. To ignore this issue is to invite decaying roof sheathing, foundation problems, settling walkways and driveways, water in the basement or crawlspace, and more to your house!

Now that I’ve written about this, I am literally going out to clean my gutters.

Let’s keep things flowing through our gut(ers) smoothly!