Time to Clean the Gutters
Plymouth, MI. – As fall approaches, many homeowners are beginning to winterize their homes to ensure that they won’t incur any problems from the harsh winter weather. Yet one of the most overlooked areas of seasonal home maintenance is the gutters and downspouts.
According to Keith Paul, president of Plymouth, Michigan based HandyPro Handyman Services; proper gutter maintenance in the fall can eliminate many potential problems homeowners can face during the winter months.
“Most people spend a lot of time putting away lawn furniture, changing their furnace filters or making sure their windows are sealed with weather stripping, but they neglect to clean and maintain the gutters,” Paul said. “If the home’s gutters are full of leaves and debris, aren’t properly aligned or have leaks in the seams, it could cause problems when the winter snows melt in the spring.”
To ensure gutters are ready for the winter, Paul suggests the following maintenance tips:
Clean leaves and other debris from the inside of the gutters, and make sure the holes going to the downspout are clear to allow water to run freely.
If you have lots of trees around your home, consider putting screen over the gutters to keep leaves out.
Check the seams in the gutters and downspouts for leaks. If the seams are
leaking, clean the seam with a wire brush to remove old caulk or adhesive, and re-caulk with a silicone caulk.
Make sure the downspouts drain far enough away from the home to avoid puddles in the grass. Install downspout extensions to help the water drain farther from the home if necessary.
Check the gutters to ensure they are aligned properly to allow water to flow to the downspouts. If they are not aligned properly, reposition them to increase the water flow toward the downspouts.
Paul said homeowners should thoroughly check their gutters each fall, and make the necessary repairs before the winter storms hit. Properly working gutters allow water to drain quickly and away from the house, which helps alleviate the potential for ice dams building up and causing roof leaks. For more home improvement and maintenance tips, visit the HandyPro Handyman blog at http://handymanservicesplymouth.blogspot.com/
Paul added that properly maintained gutters will prevent water from dripping on the porch or sidewalk, which could then freeze and cause someone to slip and fall. He said that while some gutter maintenance is fairly simple, others could be more complicated for the average homeowner, especially if people are not comfortable climbing onto the roof. “Many homeowners, especially senior citizens, are not comfortable climbing on the roof to clean or fix their gutters, so we get a lot of calls during this time of year to handle people’s gutter maintenance or to replace the gutters,” Paul said. “It’
HandyPro has been providing handyman services in the Detroit-area since 1996. Keith Paul services residential consumers and commercial buildings in Southeast Michigan, Oakland, Wayne, Washtenaw Counties, Allen Park, Ann Arbor, Belleville, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Brownstown, Canton, Dearborn, Farmington Hills, Flat Rock, Garden City, Livonia, Northville, Novi, Plymouth, Riverview, Rochester, Royal Oak, Southfield, Trenton, Troy, Walled Lake, West Bloomfield, Westland, Ypsilanti and neighboring cities and communities. Visit http://www.handypro.com for more information.
Contact:
HandyPro Handyman Service
995 South Main
Plymouth, MI 48170
800-942-6394
Email: office@
Website: http://www.handypro.com
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