Gutters are designed to fulfil an important purpose: to channel rainwater efficiently and effectively away from your home and into your underground drain.
But that's not all.
Gutters also protect against damage created by water pooling on your drive and surrounding areas, as well as lawn flooding and similar issues that make a complete mess of your house and garden.
For various reasons, a gutter can become clogged, blocked or compromised by debris and other external factors. However, gutters are often overlooked as part of your roofing system, meaning they can easily fall into disrepair if they're not looked after properly.
To help you out, Roof Giant have put together some of our favourite ways to keep your gutter running smoothly and minimise the risk of lengthy or costly repairs.
Create A Gutter Cleaning Plan
Depending on the time of year, your gutter can easily become clogged over a matter of months or even days, therefore its necessary to come up with a rough cleaning timetable to deal with gutter cleaning and clearing throughout the year.
If your gutter is surrounded by overhanging trees and is prone to blocking, we suggest a monthly gutter check to ensure that nothing has become lodged or trapped in your drainage system.
Autumn is a season where you'll need to be particularly diligent as you'll not only have to deal with falling leaves but also airborne debris from nearby trees. We also advise checking after storms or particularly blustery conditions.
Our final tip is to keep an eye on your gutters between March and August as this is the prime nesting window for birds. Sometimes twigs, sticks and similar nesting materials can be carried and dropped on your roof and in your gutter, leading to chance blockages in Spring and Summer.
Install A Gutter Guard
A gutter guard is an effective shield against all the incoming gutter debris without reducing its overall drainage efficiency.
At Roof Giant, we stock 2 key forms of guard - the gutter brush and gutter roll guard.
From our Gutter Brushes range, this high-quality hedgehog brush version from Freefoam is designed with a steel wire core and polypropylene hedgehog-like bristles which will deflect leaves, twigs and other airborne or tree-based matter whilst still allowing water to run smoothly through your gutter system.
The CMS Gutter Guard is a mesh roll that covers your entire gutter instead of sitting within it like the gutter brush. It provides a barrier against leaves, whilst still letting water run into the gutter thanks to the perforated or latticed design.
Trim Or Manage Trees Around Your Roof
Leaves, twigs, seeds, flowers and catkins can all block your gutter if trees grow nearby or sprawl over your roof. In some cases, you may need to get large overhanging branches professionally cut down if your gutter is becoming continually blocked.
If full-scale branch removal isn't viable, pruning or cutting back flowering or leafy branches could be enough to solve a lot of your gutter blockage issues.
Invest In High Grade Guttering
If you're still having issues with blockages, you could invest in Freefoam's low maintenance cast iron guttering system.
Or opt for a copper or zinc rain gutter to dimish clogging risks. Not only do copper or zinc rain gutters look amazing, they're also incredibly durable and filter debris down to your drainage area more slickly and smoothly than generic plastic alternatives. Copper gutters are also corrosion resistant and can even prevent algae and fungi from growing over time.
