How Often Should You Really Clean Your Gutters and When is the Best Time?

1. How Often Should You Really Clean Your Gutters and When is the Best Time? When it comes to cleaning their gutters, homeowners tend to have different opinions about how often it should be done and the best time of year to do it. Learn more about these opinions and figure out the best gutter cleaning schedule for your needs now. How Often Should You Clean Your Gutters? Some homeowners believe cleaning their gutters once a year is more than enough, but others insist that they must clean their gutters once each season to keep water moving along freely. The truth is that both homeowners are absolutely right. The frequency at which you should clean your gutters will depend on a wide variety of circumstances, such as: Your geographic location. In some parts of the country, there aren’t many trees. Fewer trees mean less debris, and that means less frequent gutter cleaning. The presence of a gutter guard.Gutter guards won’t completely do away with the need to clean your gutters, but they can significantly reduce the frequency by blocking much of the debris that might otherwise enter. Branches hovering above your roof. If there are numerous trees in your yard that shed leaves, acorns, twigs, pine needles, and other debris, you will find yourself cleaning your gutters far more frequently than a homeowner who has no trees at all in the yard. The wildlife in the area. Certain types of animals can view your gutter system as the perfect nesting area, and this is especially true in rural areas or places with fewer trees. In this case, cleaning your gutters more frequently can prevent these animals from nesting in them. When is the Best Time of Year to Clean Your Gutters? Some homeowners believe that it’s best to clean their gutters in early winter to remove any of the fallen leaves and debris that may have accumulated over the fall. Others tend to wait until springtime when the weather is warmer and more conducive to outdoor work. Once again, there is no right or wrong time of year to clean your gutters; it is a matter of both circumstance and personal preferences. If falling leaves are an issue, consider two gutter cleaning sessions each year. The first should be done in the middle of the fall season to prevent excessive debris buildup, and the second should be done in early spring, just before the rainy season, to clear out any further debris that may have accumulated. The Benefits of a Gutter Guard If you dread cleaning your gutters multiple times each year due to the presence of falling leaves, pine needles, nesting animals, and other types of debris, you are certainly not alone. Many homeowners choose to install gutter guards to help filter out much of the debris that would otherwise enter the gutter system. This not only reduces the difficulty involved in gutter cleaning, but it also reduces the frequency. Many homeowners find that they only need to clean their gutters once a year after installing the right gutter guard for their needs. In a nutshell, there’s no right or wrong time of year to clean your gutters as long as you are cleaning them frequently enough. The frequency itself will depend on your unique circumstances, too. For some, once a year may be more than enough, but for others, it may be necessary to do it several times each year. The only certainty is that everyone can benefit from gutter guards as they make gutter cleaning a breeze.