Thursday, February 02, 2006

Time To Clean Those Gutters

It is cold and wet outside. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest! You walk up to your house. It is pouring outside; you look up, and splash! You get drenched from your over flowing gutters. The gutter is not really there to keep you dry; its main purpose is to protect you home.

The gutter system is designed to direct water away from the wood work of you home and in to the drainage system. If it were not there, water would flow directly in to you home through small cracks in walls and continue on to the foundation. This could very quickly cause serious problems in your home such as dry rot; mold, and flooding. All of these are major issues that can occur if the gutters are not kept clean. To ensure proper drainage gutters should be cleaned 3-4 times a year. By doing this it will actually make it easier to clean each time. You can by an attachment for your hose for just a few dollars to help with this task.

If it is presently raining and you see water running over the gutters and or down the house, this is something you have to fix immediately. Also watch for puddles at the bottom of a drain spout this could also be a sign of improper drainage. The water should flow freely away from you home at all times, even in the heaviest of down pours. Yes it maybe raining and you could do it yourself. But if this isn’t what you have in mind as a fun Saturday afternoon, might I suggest you hire a professional to clean out the gutters? For just a couple hundred dollars, you could save your self thousands in home repair bills in the future.

Todd Clark – broker
Kastings & Associates
(503)524-9494
IFoundYourNewHome.com
YourLifetimeAgent@Yahoo.com