As your gutters fill up with these other things, they get wet as rain water runs through the gutters. Leaving damp organic material sitting in the warm sun is the perfect environment for mold and mildew to form. You not only have to clear your gutters of the debris, but you need to scrub them because of the mold and mildew that forms in between cleanings.

Gutter guard systems can help you avoid all that. If leaves and debris never pile up then there is less of a chance that mold and mildew will form. Gutter guards will save you time and energy in terms of how often you need to clean your gutters. In addition, they offer you a way to avoid the dangers of working on a ladder and coming into contact with possibly dangerous mold spores.

And believe it or not, over the lifetime of your gutters, gutter guards will save you money. You might pay a gutter cleaning service $200 to clean your gutters twice a year. Even the most expensive gutter protection systems cost only $3,000. That means you will have paid for the gutter protection in less than ten years. In addition, gutter guards add curb appeal to your home so they will help with resale value. That can be invaluable in hard economic times.

Let’s assume that you have made the decision to hire a professional to clean your gutters. This isn’t a trivial decision. Many people try to work beyond their skill set or comfort-level by trying to tackle a large do-it-yourself project like gutter cleaning and end up with disastrous results. Disastrous results in this situation can range from a damaged gutter system to a fall off of a ladder. As is our usual recommendation, hire a professional if you have the slightest doubt in your ability to safely clean your gutters.

Your gutters should be cleaned at least once per year at a bare minimum. The most effective time of year is toward the end of the fall after a majority of the leaves have fallen off any nearby trees. Adding an early spring gutter inspection to your fall cleaning is even better. Winter storms can blow a surprisingly large amount of debris in your gutter drainage system. Also heavy snows can start to pull your gutters away from your house. An inspection will tell you if you need a spring cleaning or if your gutters need any maintenance.

A spring gutter inspection plus a fall cleaning will take care of most people’s needs. However, if you find that you regularly require two cleanings per year, you should simply make a fall and spring cleaning part of your regular home maintenance schedule and add in an early-to-mid summer inspection. This way you can be certain that your gutters are operating at peak efficiency throughout the year. Who might need two cleanings plus an inspection? If you have a large number of coniferous trees like pine or spruce near your home you could be a candidate for multiple cleanings every year. Pine needles are small enough that they can even thwart many gutter protection systems and end up clogging down spouts.

Finally, if you notice that rain water is pouring over the sides of your gutters, you probably have a backup somewhere in your system that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. The damage a clogged gutter can do to your home is fairly notorious. Also, if it is raining and you don’t see water exiting your down spouts, you could have a clog and your gutters should be inspected.

Many gutter cleaning companies are power washing companies. That means that they offer power washing services for a wide variety of surfaces. They can clean vinyl siding, aluminum siding, concrete patios, brick, stucco, slate, flagstone, decks, boats, basketball and tennis courts, and roofs. You can get almost the entire exterior of your home cleaned at once if that is what you are looking for. In addition, power washing companies might also clean the paint off of your house in preparation of a new paint job or restore old brick to its old glory. You can also get swing sets, basement or concrete floors, or tombstones, cleaned if that is what you need.

Another type of company that might offer a gutter cleaning service is a window washer. Window washing is a seasonal job sometimes. People rarely worry about cleaning their windows too much in the late fall or during the winter when there is less sunshine. As a result, many window washing companies offer gutter cleaning services to pick up the slack during those slow times. These professionals are used to working on ladders and usually do a good job.

Finally, you might be able to find a landscaping company that does gutter cleaning. Landscapers offer services like lawn cutting, fertilization, mulching, weeding, planting, tree pruning, etc. Any kind of outdoor yard work can be accomplished by a landscaping company. You can hire their services on a weekly basis or a once a year basis. If the landscapers come twice a year to spruce up your yard, then it is easy to add a gutter inspection or cleaning to their to do list when they are there.

My first recommendation would be to ask friends, family, and neighbors about who they use. If other people you know use a particular service then they are pretty happy with the results. Plus, if they ran across a service that did a poor job or for some reason they did not like, they will be sure to tell you. Asking the question will get people talking about it. They might never tell you otherwise and you might hire a service that swindled someone you know before it is too late.

My second recommendation would be the Yellow Pages. Many gutter cleaning services are local businesses that do not have a large online presence. You are much more likely to find a gutter cleaning service in the phone book than in a web search. Look for companies that have larger ads because they are generally your more established companies.

Now, just because most gutter cleaning companies are local, that does not mean you cannot find them online. An online search for gutter cleaning and the name of your city or municipality should return multiple listings for local cleaning companies. Do not expect a lot of the companies to have fancy web pages or web pages at all. Do not be discouraged by this. Even though a professional gutter cleaning service might not have a web page that does not mean they are not legitimate. ]]> http://guttercleaningtips.com/where-to-find-a-gutter-cleaning-service/feed/ 0 http://guttercleaningtips.com/what-to-look-for-in-a-gutter-cleaning-service/ http://guttercleaningtips.com/what-to-look-for-in-a-gutter-cleaning-service/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:18:50 +0000 Gutterguy http://guttercleaningtips.com/?p=141 If you have decided to hire a gutter cleaning service then you have made a good decision for you and for your home. However, that is only true if you find a professional who will do quality work in a timely manner for a reasonable price. But how do you know that will be the case when you are trying to decide on whom to fire? Well, there are a couple of things to look for that will give you a good chance at finding a reputable professional.

The first thing you want to be aware of is how they quote the job. You will find different gutter cleaning services charge different ways. For example, some will charge by the linear feet. They will give you a price per foot of gutter system. Others will charge based on the square footage of your house and how many stories it is. This second method is essentially the same as the first because they are using the square footage to estimate linear feet of roof line. Still others will give you a per job price. All these methods are valid. The thing to look out for is the ones who give you a price without asking any questions about your home. If the gutter cleaning service does not know how big your house is or how many stories it is, or how clogged your gutters are, or the last time you had them cleaned; how are they going to know how much work will be involved in the cleaning job? How will they know how many man hours it is going to take so they can figure out a fair price? If they are blindly giving you a price then either they are over charging or they will do a poor job so they can move on to the next house as quickly as possible.

Make sure that the person you call to get a quote ask questions about the size of your home, the type of landscaping there is around it, how clogged your gutters, etc. The more information they have, the more informed their quote will be. That way there will be no surprise charges later. It would be even better if they came to your home to do an on site quote. That way, they can actually look at your gutters and take measurements themselves.

Another way to make sure there are no surprises when it comes time to pay the bill is to get your expectations and the promises of the service in writing. By writing down what you are expecting and what they are capable of you will make sure that everyone is on the same page. If they cannot meet your expectations for the agreed upon price, it is better to know before they start than after.

Another important thing to ask about is whether or not the company has insurance or is bonded. If someone is working on your property and is under contract with you and they do not have workers compensation or liability insurance, then you could be responsible for medical bills if they get hurt or you will not get reimbursed if they cause damage to your home. Ask about insurance and if the professional cleaners cannot answer your questions then hang up the phone and call someone else.

While it is not necessary, a gutter cleaning company that offers other services like window cleaning, siding cleaning, chimney cleaning, roof cleaning, or landscaping seems more reputable. If a company has the equipment and expertise to do many household chores then they are probably well trained and well equipped. That means they are more likely to do a quality job than someone who is just working out of the back of his truck to make a few extra dollars in the fall.

First, gutter cleaning is dangerous. This job requires that you work on a ladder and ladder accidents are quite common. Thousands of people are seen in emergency rooms every year because of injuries they sustained while working on or near ladders. There are even a few deaths every year. Climbing ladders is dangerous enough, but when you have to work on top of one, reaching out as far as you can and scooping and scrubbing, the danger factor goes up. The dangers are not limited to working at heights, though. The debris that clogs up gutters is often wet and infested with mold and mildew that can be harmful to your health. Most people can get away from gutter cleaning with a few sneezes if they wear a mask and they have a healthy respiratory system. However, if you are unlucky enough to suffer from a mold allergy, you could have a wide range of reactions including difficulty breathing or even death. The dangers associated with this chore are only the first reason you should consider hiring a professional gutter cleaner.

Another reason is if you are afraid of heights. We have already recognized that working on a ladder is dangerous. Imagine how much worse it is for someone who is afraid of heights. Just the act of climbing up the ladder, before you ever have to let go, is terrifying. To some, it is worth the extra cost to pay someone to do it for them. It may seem irrational, but acrophobia is a real thing and the symptoms can include a loss of the ability to think clearly and panic attacks. Those symptoms could lead to someone doing something that could lead to injury.

Something you might not think about that is a great benefit of having a professional gutter cleaner to your home is that they can make sure your gutters are hanging the right angles to maximize your gutter efficiency and they can tighten any loose holders or replace any missing straps. As your gutter system ages and settles, it might not be hanging appropriately. Professional gutter cleaning services usually include an inspection to make sure that the pitch is appropriate and your gutters are securely attached to your home. If you so not mind working on a ladder and have no fear of working at heights, then you might want to consider hiring someone for this reason about once every two years or so.

You do not necessarily need the fancy gutter brushes, scoops, or wands to clean your gutters, but there are a few essential items. First you will need a ladder. You have to be able to reach your gutters in order to clean them. The other essential items include a pair of gloves and a trash bag. You have to have somewhere to put the debris once you clean it out, hence the trash bag. And you want to protect yourself when you are handling the mold and mildew covered leaves in the gutters, hence the gloves. You can use your own two hands to scoop out the debris. Once you clear the big pieces your gutter should work well enough until you can get back up there with a brush or a garden hose.

If you do not have a ladder, which is the hardest essential to come by then you do have one other alternative tool that you can use – the telephone. Call a gutter cleaning service to get the job done. However, keep in mind that it will probably take them as long to get to your job as it will for you to get your own gutter cleaning tools and do the job yourself.

Most importantly, you want to make sure that the base of your ladder is on solid, level ground and not on any ice, snow, grease or mud. The rule of thumb for where to place your ladder: for every four feet high that the ladder is going to go up, the base of the ladder should be one foot away from the house. So, for a typical one-story house, the top of your ladder will be about 10 above the ground and the base of the ladder will be about 2.5 feet from the house. This means that you need a ladder that is between 10 and 11 feet long.

Make sure that you always face the ladder when moving up or down and never carry anything in your hand while climbing. You will probably need a garbage bag and gloves to clean your gutters so you should carry these things in your pocket or wear the gloves when climbing up and down. I find it works best to attach the garbage bag to a rope and then tie the rope to my belt loop while I climb. Then when I get to the top I can raise the bag up and down. Experts will tell you that you must always maintain three points of contact when on a ladder. That means that either two feet and one hand or two hands and one foot must be touching the ladder at any given moment. Therefore, once you get the garbage bag up to the top, use the rope to tie it to the ladder so you can hang on with one hand and clean out debris with the other.

There is one other safety concern that I can think of. I recommend that you wear gloves when cleaning out your gutters because you will be exposed to molds from the wet leaves and debris in your gutters. That moist environment is the perfect place to grow mold and bacteria. Most people will be fine if they wear the gloves and may only suffer the occasional sneeze. However, there are people with severe mold allergies that might suffer worse side effects. If you are one of those people then I recommend that you let another family member clean your gutters and downspouts or hire a gutter cleaning service.

If you do it yourself, there will be considerably less cost. It only takes time and some simple gutter cleaning equipment that is only basic household items. Therefore, doing it yourself is usually the more ecnomical choice. If you hire gutter cleaning services you could spend anywhere from seventy-five to five hundred dollars. The size of your home and how many stories it is add to the cost. If your downspouts are clogged this usually adds to this cost as well. Most people that professional clean your gutter do not use water or hoses so cleaning downspouts is a lot more complicated. In addition to the economics, there is a less tangible advantage to cleaning your own gutters. When you own a home, you develop a special bond with it as you put more and pore of yourself into maintaining it. There is a great satisfaction in putting in some hard work on making your home more beautiful.

If you are a particularly clumsy individual or are accident-prone, then hiring someone to clean your gutters could be the right choice for you. Obviously, there are safety concerns when you clean your own gutters. If you let professionals do it then you do not have to worry about being hurt when you fall from a ladder. In addition to keeping your feet on the ground, hiring a professional has other added benefits. Many gutter-cleaning services include leveling of your gutters to make sure they are pitched properly to optimize your drainage system. In addition, many technicians also will replace or repair the hangers for your gutters to make sure they are securely attached to your home and will not fall off in heavy winds or rains. As self-sufficient as they can be, I doubt many homeowners know the specifics of how their gutters should hang.

In order to make sure that my gutters are hanging properly, I usually have a service clean them once every two years. The other three times I climb up the ladder and do it myself. If you keep to a schedule of two cleanings per year, the chore should not take as long or be as expensive when you pay for it.