Top Gutter Cleaning Services in Ithaca, NY

Clean gutters protect our homes by diverting water away from a house’s roof, siding, and foundation. Keeping gutters clean helps to prevent mold and mildew, helps your roof maintain its integrity, and prevents pests like birds and mosquitoes from nesting around your home. Experts recommend that homeowners clean their gutters twice a year: once in the spring, and once in the fall. If your home is in the desert, the gutter may just need to be cleaned once a year. If your home is in the woods, your gutters may need to be cleaned three or four times a year. It’s always wise to consult a gutter cleaning pro to create a schedule that works best for your home.

You may find that you need to have your home’s gutters cleaned in between the official bi-yearly maintenance cleaning. If you see plants growing on your roof or in your gutters, birds seem to be living on your roof, or if you see mold starting to form on your siding, it may be time for a gutter cleaning. If your gutters are sagging, water is spilling over the sides, or you see stains on your siding, get your gutters cleaned sooner rather than later, too.

Homeowners who overlook the importance of keeping their gutters clean may soon regret it. Clogged gutters can easily overflow, causing damage in a number of areas and in a number of ways. The main issue caused by gutters that aren’t properly cleaned and maintained is roof damage. Keeping gutters clean and free of debris protects your roof from potentially costly repairs. If water overflows and collects in the foundation, it can freeze, which creates cracks in a home’s foundation. Wet and piled-up debris and leaves are also an attractive nesting ground for insects and birds. Furthermore, when gutters overflow into the garden below, plants can suffer damage, and overflowing gutters can even cause basements to flood.

The comfort and safety of your home is partly contingent on the health of your home’s roof and gutters. If you have the experience, tools, and time to stay on top of cleaning your own gutters, it’s a fairly straightforward process. It’s smart to hire a pro to do your gutter cleaning if you’re worried about heights or if access to your gutters is difficult to reach. Gutter cleaning requires climbing a ladder, working up on the roof which could be slippery, especially if it’s icy or there’s snow on the roof. A pro will know how to tackle your gutter cleaning project safely and efficiently, no matter what the circumstances.

It’s a good idea to stay on top of a regular gutter cleaning schedule rather than wait until you see signs that your gutters need to be cleaned. Home maintenance specialists recommend having a home’s gutters cleaned in the spring and fall. If a home is surrounded by trees, gutters will need to be cleaned more often. Leaves, dirt, dust, and debris collect in gutters, which can cause them to clog. Clogged gutters lead to water overflow that can cause various kinds of expensive damage to your home. So it’s important to look for signs that your gutters need to be cleaned beyond the regular maintenance cleanings.

If water is spilling over the side of your house, or if the gutters are sagging, it’s time for a cleaning. If you notice birds or bugs nesting on your roof, or you spy mold forming on the siding, get your gutters cleaned. Stains on the siding are another signal that it’s time for gutter cleaning. Discovering that your basement has flooded might be a strong and unwelcome sign that you need to have your gutters cleaned. For your own peace of mind, it’s best to consult a gutter cleaning professional if you have any questions or concerns about the state of your gutters.

Many contractors specialize in gutter cleaning. These gutter-cleaning pros have the experience, knowledge, and tools to carry out the job quickly, safely, and efficiently. There are many potential pitfalls to DIY gutter cleaning. For example, it’s easy to accidentally damage the roof during a cleaning, or to damage the brackets which need to be protected. Rooftops can be slippery, especially if they are wet, or if snow and ice has accumulated on the roof.

If you’re determined to clean your own gutters, you’ll need some special tools. Start with a ladder and someone to spot you while you climb it. You’ll need gloves to protect your hands from sharp objects in the gutter, safety goggles for flying debris, a dust mask, a garden trowel and a bucket. Debris may be packed into the gutters, so you may have to put some effort into digging it out. Be careful not to damage the gutter or the rooftop in the process. If you have any doubts at all, it’s smart to call a pro to do a gutter cleaning for you.

If you prefer to hire a pro to clean your gutters, the cost may be well worth it. The cost of hiring a pro to clean your gutters is affected by various factors:

• If your house has gutters that run all the way around all four sides, the cost will be higher.
• If your roof has a steep pitch, the cost will be higher.
• If you hire a pro to clean your gutters, you can request a gutter inspection at the same time. The pros will let you know if your gutters need to be repaired, or if they’re showing signs of too much wear and may need to be replaced.
• The actual price for gutter cleaning is usually based on the square footage of your home and on the gutter’s linear feet.
• Gutter cleaning for a single story house will cost less than for a two or three story house.
• A gutter cleaning cost will vary according to your locale, whether your home is surrounded by trees, and how long you’ve gone between cleanings.
• Keep in mind that rates may go up during the most popular times for gutter cleaning in the fall and spring seasons.

Consult the free Porch project cost guides to get an idea about how much gutter cleaning should cost in your area.

Cleaning your home’s gutters may seem like a simple task DIY to tackle. However, if you look closely at what’s actually involved in gutter cleaning, it’s smart to consider hiring a gutter cleaning pro to do the job for you. First, gutter cleaning poses various dangers. Roofs are notoriously slippery especially when wet, snow has accumulated, or the pitch is steep. The job usually requires climbing an extension ladder and balancing on the roof while digging stubborn debris from the gutters. It’s easy to damage the roof or brackets during a DIY cleaning. The job also requires safety goggles, a dust mask, rubber gloves, a trowel, and bucket. Not all homeowners will have this kind of expertise and tools on hand to clean their gutters safely.

A pro will know what tools to bring to the work site, and they’ll have the proper safety equipment to get the job done without injury. Furthermore, a pro will be insured so you’re not liable in case of injury during the cleaning, or there’s damage to the roof or gutters. Because gutter cleaning pros have likely carried out the operation many times, they’ll be able to get the job done more efficiently than most homeowners. In most cases, it makes sense to hire a pro to have your gutters cleaned rather than trying to tackle the job yourself.