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How Often Should You Clean Gutters in Single & Two Story Homes

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As a homeowner, cleaning your gutters during a lazy afternoon might not be the most fun activity. But it’s an essential part of maintaining your home. So how often should you do it? Today, I will answer your questions about how frequently you should take part in gutter cleaning and gutter guard cleaning!

As a general rule of thumb, it’s recommended to clean your gutters at least twice a year. However, if you have a lot of tall trees over your roof, you might need to do it a bit more often. 

Now that you have a general idea about how often you should take part in cleaning your gutters, we can get into the details! You may need to clean the gutters of your home more frequently depending on a few factors. Keep reading to find out!

How Often Should Homeowners Clean Their Gutters? 

There are no hard and fast rules to how often you need to get your gutters cleaned. Most experts suggest cleaning the gutters of your home, be it a single or two-story home, at least twice each year. But if you have gutter guards or gutter protection systems, specifically micromesh ones, then you might get by with cleaning them once every 1-2 years. 

But then again, you might need to decide this after considering a few factors. If there are pine trees above your property, you should inspect your gutters every three months. This is because pine trees tend to shed needles all year round and a lot! 

If you live in a highly elevated area, ice is your biggest concern. Keeping your gutters clean throughout winter can be a hassle. But ice damage to your roof can be a total headache and it’s best to take precautions before it starts. 

When Should You Clean Your Gutters More Frequently?

In general, you should clean your gutters twice a year, once every spring and once every early fall. However, if you live in a location where there is a lot of rain or snowfall every year, you might need to increase the frequency of cleaning. 

The fall and winter are especially hard on your gutters as autumn leaves pile up during fall and all the winter snow and ice leaves behind a huge mess. So taking care of the task at the start of fall prepares your gutter to take on everything the fall and winter throws at them. Then you can clear out all the piles of snow, ice, and fallen leaves in the spring.  

If there are numerous trees near your home’s gutter system, foliage can build up over time in the gutter. This can also clog drainage pipes that lead from rain gutters to sewage lines and cause blockages in downspouts. It’s also critical that you maintain your gutters and nearby trees regularly, such as – trees with thick, dense branches that hang over the roof. If you are living in states like new jersey gutter cleaning is required for at least 2 years due to the weather and foliage.

Conclusion 

Cleaning the gutters can be a simple task, but sometimes we may end up ignoring it for much longer than we should. So how often should you take on cleaning gutter and gutter guard at your single or two-story building? 

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