Do you ever wonder what would happen if you just decided to stop cleaning your gutter system? Maybe you imagine it would be just fine, or maybe you think it would break down entirely. Cleaning gutters keeps your system working properly and draining smoothly, but if you stopped cleaning them altogether, you could face some pretty serious consequences.

The ramifications of not cleaning gutters may start small, but they can build to catastrophe. Now, the build-up of the effects of not properly maintaining your gutter system could be slowed, depending on what kind of system and protection you have, but nothing can stop them permanently.

Clogging

One of the first things you may expect to see if you don’t clean your gutters is clogging. Clogging can happen through several factors, including nesting birds and insects and falling debris and leaves. These things can build up and create a major blockage in your gutter system.

Clogged gutters don’t allow the rainwater to drain properly, which can lead to extra moisture in areas where there should be none and potential water damage to the very structures you are trying to protect. The sooner you catch a clog, the better.

If your gutter remains clogged for an extended period, it can cause widespread water damage and lead to the necessary replacement of some or all of the gutter system. If your gutters have guards, they have a little added protection that might delay some of the more serious issues related to clogging, but can’t prevent it forever.

Hidden Breaks and Leaks

Cleaning your gutters allow you to inspect them to check for leaks, breaks, and other hazards that gutter systems are susceptible to. Gutter systems are consistently exposed to nature, and can’t last forever. They eventually break, leak, and could even fall apart.

While you’re cleaning your gutters, it’s a great idea to pay attention to the integrity of the system. You should be checking for stability to be sure the gutters aren’t coming loose and making sure that any seams, corners, and the gutter downspouts haven’t separated and begun leaking.

If you aren’t cleaning your gutters and those hidden leaks or breaks are allowed to fester, they could cost you several thousand dollars in repairs. You could find yourself needing to replace components of your building as well as pieces or the entirety of your gutter system.

Unknown Corrosion

Corrosion can be a deadly culprit destroying your gutter system, and even more so if you aren’t even aware that it is there. Corrosion happens when metal is in contact with certain other chemicals or materials that force it to break down faster. It looks like rust on a gutter system.

If you haven’t been cleaning your gutters, you might have some corroded areas hiding from you. If you don’t immediately see them, you may not consider that your gutter system could be rotting away. Once corrosion has gotten bad enough, there is no choice but to replace the gutters.

Cleaning your gutters regularly can help slow the process of corrosion, but also makes you able to identify problem areas as they arise so that you don’t sacrifice your entire system. The best rain gutters are highly resistant to corrosion, like copper gutter systems.

Extreme Costs

This particular consequence of not cleaning your gutters hits you where it hurts the most–your wallet. You saved up and bought your home or your business, and it needs a proper gutter system. If you had to install one in the beginning, you’ve already put lots of money into your building.

If you install a brand new gutter system, it’ll last a while, but it lasts longer when it is properly maintained. If you don’t clean the gutter system, you’ll wind up needing to pay a professional to do so. If you still don’t have them cleaned, you’re likely to notice clogging first, which leads to water damage and system damage. Next, come other leaks and breaks, and then corrosion.

If you continue on without cleaning the gutter, you risk needing to replace more than just pieces of the gutter. You’ll find yourself replacing the whole system, walls, ceilings, possibly floors, and more. Do you have insurance? Sure, they might help cover a claim, but you’ll still have a deductible and other costs incurred there, too.

That money is going to add up quickly and could cost you much more than you originally paid before you realize it. Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to just clean the gutter?

Personal Injury

Of course, the insurance would probably cover this one, too, with the deductible, but there is potential for them to deny the claim if you know about damage to the structure that caused the injury and didn’t repair it.

If your gutter system is not being cleaned and allows water to seep into and destroy the ceiling, wall, and floor of a structure, it may reach a point where it becomes physically dangerous. If the water damage is bad enough, something could collapse or someone could fall, and when someone is hurt because the gutter system wasn’t cleaned the way it should have been, that can be painful for everyone involved.

Who Do You Call?

You’re going to need an honest, professional gutter company to come to help you with your gutter system if you’ve been neglecting it. If you find yourself online about to search ‘gutter company near me,’ you’re sure to find multiple companies, but which one is the best?

You’ll need experience, skills, the knowledge of different systems, and you’ll naturally want a company that is highly customer service focused and will work to provide you with exactly what you need at a competitive price.

Storm Master Gutter company has been in business since the 1970s, so they have more than 40 years of experience. They can build and repair any gutter systems you want or have, and they do it with the highest quality customer service available.