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Gutter guards are probably not a concept that you ever heard about as you were growing up. Most of us grew up helping our parents, or grandparents, clean out the gutters before winter hit, and after it was gone. Keeping leaves and debris out of them could be a very time-consuming job. And if you want to talk about a dirty, messy, insect bombarding job then you will need to think no farther than gutter cleaning.
If you do not know what the guards are, they are materials placed along the top of your gutter to decrease the number of debris entering into the main sections of the gutters. They are like a screen, keeping the majority of the gunk out to prevent any blockages. If you have ever seen them, you know that they definitely do their job well. So, the benefits of them are obvious, but many people, including home buyers and insurance companies, think that they should be mandatory. Let us look into the reasons why this is the case.
- Prevent Blockage: When guards are put into place the blockage that normally occurs when the leaves fall, and the twigs freeze and fall off, will be decreased. Decreased by a substantial amount because all the stuff that would normally form dams within your water drainage systems will sit on top of the guard. So, the water and small pieces of debris go into the gutter and then wash through the system all the way down and out. The main debris will wash away with rain or will allow you easy access to remove it.
- Pests: Insects and animals are some of the biggest issues that you will ever have to face when owning a home. They will nest wherever they can. Once they are nested, they will destroy the surrounding materials, as will their offspring. And to top it off, the predators that choose your pests as a food source will cause even more damage. To make matters worse, the pests will attack anything that comes near them, especially when they are hiding their young. When saying that they will attack anything, you can bet that you are included in this statement. If you doubt me go ahead and climb up next to a wasp nest, or a bird’s nest that has eggs or babies in it. When you get attacked, stung, or knocked off your ladder, remember that you were warned.
- Fire Prevention: One reason that insurance companies think gutter covers should be mandatory is their ability to prevent fires. You have probably been around the block enough times to know that when debris builds up and dries out that you have great tinder for a fire. Whether it is ignited by a stray bottle rocket, or maybe a spark from a lawnmower or hammer, it does not take much to ignite such a dried-out pile. Guards can also help prevent wildfires from spreading. Without the dried piles of debris in your gutter a spark from a tree burning nearby will not set your house ablaze.
Innovative technology is introduced onto the market every other day. This does not just mean with electronics, either. New upgrades to home safety and efficiency have been thrust in front of homeowners for years. Some of the concepts may not apply to you, but if you own a home then you really should consider adding some guards onto your gutters. If you do not have gutters, now is the time to have them installed, along with the guards. If you have them in place already then it is an easy task to have them added.
Home ownership comes with a ton of expenses and time-consuming tasks that you were never told about during the closing. You may have paid attention when you were growing up, which would give you a good idea of what you are walking into. But if we are honest with ourselves, we know that growing up we knew better than our elders, and as such we never listened well enough to retain much of the advice that they were trying to pass down to us. Anything that we can do to decrease the time and money involved in maintenance, the better off we are. Gutter guards are one such time saver that offers a great long-time investment.
