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Cleaning your gutters in the fall is the best time to do this annual home chore. When the trees are clear of leaves, it’s time to make sure your home’s gutters and downspouts are clean.  I have a fall chore list that I group together: clean the gutters, blow out the sprinklers, and drain the evaporative cooler on the roof.

Excel Roofing, Denver’s best gutter cleaner, finds that downspouts are clogged more often than the gutters, so it’s important to make sure both the gutters and downspouts are thoroughly cleaned.

Gutter Covers– Excel Roofing has never seen a gutter cover system that works really well, and they do have some issues.  First, they are really expensive, costing between $15 to $20 per linear foot!   It’s less expensive to pay Excel to clean your gutters than to buy gutter covers.  Other problems include causing water to overshoot the gutters in heavy downpours, making icing and icicle problems worse, and the gathering of debris on top of the gutter.  Excel does not recommend that you cover your gutters.

Cleaning gutters is crucial because it helps keep water away from the foundation of your home.  Our part of the country has expansive soils that when saturated, can cause foundation damage to your home.  Basement flooding is another reason to keep water away from your home. Did you know that basement flooding caused by water coming in from the outside is not covered by your regular insurance?  If you do not have flood insurance, which most of us do not, then your basement is not covered if the gutters overflow and water leaks into the basement.  Excel has seen a number of flooded basements caused by clogged gutters.

Still more problems caused by overflowing and leaking gutters are damage to wood and paint.  It’s easy to see where the water flows onto the wood because the paint will peel and the wood will start rotting.  If you notice areas on the soffit or fascia board where the paint is peeling, this is a sign that the gutters are probably leaking, and may be clogged.  It’s best to clean the gutters and downspouts, and test the gutter with water to identify the reason for the leak.  If a gutter connection needs sealant, clean the area and use gutter sealant to fix the problem.  Gutter sealant is different than regular silicone and can be found at most hardware and big box stores.