Home improvements are essential for homeowners living in areas that experience extreme weather conditions. Whether you’re living in a place with high humidity, frequent rainstorms, or a hot climate, you have to ensure your home is well-protected against harsh weather elements, such as moisture, hot/cold temperature, hail, and strong winds.
There are different types of home improvement projects that improve the structural features of your home and increase the overall house value. They include the repair, maintenance, and serving tasks for the home interior, outdoor foundation, curb appeal, and backyard structure. While it’s possible to take on house projects by yourself, many rely on the skills and expertise of repairmen, contractors, or home professionals.
One example is a company that tackles flooring systems and sells cement coatings and urethane concrete sealers. They ensure their products and services provide optimum durability and flexibility in tough environments.
But if there’s another part of our homes that we often neglect, it would be the gutters. Yes, your home’s gutters are a critical part of your home foundation that prevents erosion and basement flooding, mitigates paint damage, avoids mildew and mold growth, and protects the landscaping and wall structure.
Whether summer or winter is coming to your area, it only means one thing — time to clean the gutters. But gutter cleaning isn’t as easy and straightforward as it sounds. If not done properly, this can lead to dangerous consequences. To ensure a safe and effective gutter cleaning every season, here are some gutter cleaning mistakes you should avoid:
Not taking ladder safety seriously
Stability skills are essential whether you’re fixing the roof, walls, or gutters. Balancing yourself high up from the ground is a risky task, but many people don’t take this seriously. Falling from the ladder is the most dangerous accident to happen when tackling gutters. It can lead to serious injuries or even immediate death. This is why safety precautions are important when cleaning the gutters.
While this seems like common sense, you need to use the right ladder to perform the job successfully. A wrong-sized ladder isn’t only inefficient but also dangerous. Invest in a high-quality ladder that is durable, stable, and made of quality materials.
Even if you have the strongest ladder for the job, make sure to ask someone to hold the base of the ladder. This will ensure someone will hold the ladder if you lose your balance. Be wary of ladders with cracks and loose or broken hardware. If you haven’t used the ladder for some time, never put your safety at risk. Save yourself from injuries and buy a new one.
Lack of gutter guards
Are your clogged gutters giving you a headache? If your area has a lot of trees and shrubs, don’t be surprised if you keep finding tree droppings, leaves, and other debris inside the gutters. Make your job easier by installing gutter guards. Gutter guards prevent debris from reaching the gutters’ drainage systems. When installed properly, this allows water to flow naturally even during the strongest rainstorms.
If you have a habit of forgetting to clean the gutters, gutter guards make a terrific investment. But remember, the gutter guards will only reduce the frequency of gutter maintenance, but it doesn’t mean you will completely forget about the cleaning. Check the gutter guards now and then to remove debris and inspect potential issues.
Using the wrong tools
Using your hands to scope out the debris and leaves from the gutters isn’t only inefficient but also time-consuming. Save yourself time and trouble by investing in the right tools. Power tools may seem a quick solution to gutter cleaning, but they’re actually causing more trouble than their worth. A shop vac or leaf blower will only displace the debris by ending up on the roof, siding, windows, yard, or other parts of the property. This leads to more work to deal with later.
The best tools for gutter cleaning include a gutter scoop, garden hose with a spray nozzle, and gutter trowel. Make sure to invest in high-quality ones to ensure durability and long-term use. Also, don’t forget to wear proper safety gear, such as eye protection, work gloves, and footwear with a durable tread.
Every part of your home plays an important task in protecting you and your property against different weather conditions. The gutter may seem a small part of the home structure, but it plays a critical purpose. The next time you clean the gutters, make sure to take note of the mistakes above to ensure safe and successful maintenance every season.
