Fall leaves sure are gorgeous; social media is flooded with pictures of the horizon this time of year for a reason! When it comes to your gutters this season, though, the falling leaves are anything but lovely. They constantly assault this vital structure of your home, building up into massive clogs that can do anything from stain your siding to compromise your home’s foundation.
Obviously, you must keep your gutter installation free of this debris; on top of the risks not doing so poses to the rest of your home, you want your gutters to be standing strong come spring, ready for the wet season and the meltwater. Leaving leaf litter in your gutters over winter can put a serious strain on the system, leading to cracks and, in severe cases, the gutters pulling away from the fascia itself!
Ready to face the autumnal onslaught? Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors, Sauk Rapids roofing and gutter experts, is here to help. Below, you’ll find a few handy tips for keeping your gutters spick and span throughout the fall.
1. Consider Gutter Installation Upgrades
As aggravating as constantly-filled gutters may seem, you’re not the only one who faces this problem. Luckily, gutter installers now bring you products that make debris management all the easier.
They don’t just make your life more convenient, though; many also work to actively prolong the life of your gutter system.
Gutter Guards: Ever-Vigilant Protection
Also called leaf-protection products, these debris-busting devices fit over the top of your gutters, somewhat like a lid on a plastic storage box. Thanks to the small holes in them, water is allowed to pass through for your gutters to handle, while larger objects are caught in the mesh net or otherwise slide to the ground.
Gutter guards can be installed in a jiffy, making them an excellent investment for the homeowner who needs those leaves beat—and fast. They also come in various materials, from mesh screens to plastic, meaning that there’s a product out there that’s a perfect fit for your gutter’s problem.
At Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors, we provide three options for improved gutters. Our gutter guard options protect from leaf clogs and more.
Reach out today to learn more about:
- Leaf-free protection
- Premiere protection
- Mesh screen protection
With these upgraded gutter guards along with our seamless gutter system, keeping gutters clean is a breeze.
Seamless Gutters Make Cleaning a Breeze
If you’ve got traditional gutters, cleaning is a pain. You’re constantly digging out the gunk that’s getting caught on the ridges or climbing up again to fix yet another clog.
You don’t need to be at your gutters’ beck and call like this, though—just go seamless! With far fewer ridges for debris to get caught on, a seamless gutter installation is far lower maintenance than its counterpart.
It’s got a bunch of other benefits, too; check out our gutter installer blog, “Why Buy Seamless Gutters?” for more.
2. Rethink Your Gutter Cleaning Method
No matter what kind of gutter installation you have, you’ll need to at least seasonally clear leaves and debris from it. Traditionally, this is accomplished with a ladder, a bucket, a garden spade, and work gloves.
While it gets the job done, that method tends to be time-consuming, not to mention exhausting. Think about how often you’d need to move the ladder or empty the bucket! While your gutters will still need to be cleaned, you don’t necessarily need to resort to drudgery.
With a little bit of clever thinking and a potential investment or two, you can make this chore simple to check off your to-do list.
Improve Cleaning Through the Right Tools
If you don’t mind hauling them about, tarps spread underneath your workspace make a more-than-viable alternative to a bucket. You’ll save your arm strength and cut out the vast amounts of time you’d spend emptying.
Plus, you get the immensely satisfying experience of watching debris hurtle away and land with a splat. If you’re short on tarps, you can always have a “ground crew” to move one about while you work. Just watch where you’re tossing!
In addition to tarps, you might also invest in a lengthy garden hose or drill attachment that allows you to clean your gutters from the ground. While you’ll still need to figure out a fitting waste-disposal system, such a device can be much easier on the arms, allowing you to get the job done more quickly.
3. Wait for the Right Time to Clean Your Gutters
Of course, nobody wants to be up on a ladder in a thunderstorm. Please be safe! But what we’re really getting at here is that the recent weather can have massive effects on the texture of the debris—and how much easier it is to clean.
Dried-out leaf litter, for example, can be swept to the ground and raked away, while detritus requires that you dig in with gloves or a shovel and a more complex disposal process.
Wait for a sunny couple of days in a streak of dry weather—one of the last “summer” afternoons of the year works well—and you’re golden.
4. Trim Branches Away From the Gutters
Instead of continually fighting to clear up the debris from your gutters, you can lessen your workload. By keeping branches, bushes, and any other greenery away from the gutters, they’re less likely to fill up.
This is also a good idea because trees and shrubs near your rooftop or siding can cause damage, especially after a storm.
5. Request Professional Gutter Services
The final way to keep your gutters clean is the easiest one. While you can do all of your gutter cleaning and maintenance on your own, it takes time, effort, and tools, you might not want to have free space in your schedule, and it’s easy to forget to check on your gutters.
Instead, reach out to Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors to request gutter maintenance or an inspection. Most importantly, if we install our seamless gutter system, you don’t need to worry about much routine maintenance. However, if leaves are becoming a problem, call us for help.
Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors: Here to Make Exterior Management Simple
At Tony’s Lifetime Exteriors, we are your complete stop for home exterior management. From siding to roofing to gutters, we can install a new gutter system to work with your roof. We also offer storm damage restoration.
When it comes to Minnesota weather, ensuring all the external parts of your home work together is vital. So, reach out if you need help or have questions about your gutters, siding, or roof.
With our host of convenience-boosting, low-maintenance products, we’ll help cut down on your to-do list and get you back to enjoying the year’s final warm days. Give our Sauk Rapids office a call today at 320-252-9086.