Cleaning the gutters and eavestroughs attached to your roof is not an easy task. Many homeowners avoid doing it as it requires climbing up ladders and removing the debris by hand. While it’s an unpleasant task to handle yourself, it must be done as a lack of gutter care can lead to expensive repairs. If you didn’t get your gutters cleaned during fall, make it a priority this winter. Failing to do so can lead to the following downfalls.
1. Attracts Unwanted Guests
If your gutters are not cleaned during summer or fall, they can become clogged with leaves, twigs and other types of debris. Snow can saturate over clogged gutters and create an ideal housing situation for squirrels, birds, bees, mice, mosquitos, snakes and other wild animals. These unwanted guests on your roof can further damage your gutters. Their make-shift nest can lead to heavy snow saturation on your roof and flooding on warmer winter days. If you haven’t already, hire a local pro to get rid of pests and rodents from your gutters.
2. Creates Potential Flooding
Did you know that the main function of your gutters is to draw rainwater and snow away from your home? When your gutters are clogged with fallen leaves and snow, they cannot properly do their job. This can lead to flooding of your home’s foundation and other areas.
On warm winter days, the saturated snow on your roof starts to melt and will try to drain through the gutters. But, if your gutters are clogged or broken, the melted snow on your roof will not be able to easily drain. Instead it will flood over the debris or broken gutter arms. This flood water can damage your walls and may find cracks in the wall entering your house. Many homeowners have also noticed signs of basement flooding due to ignoring proper gutter care.
3. Increases Heating Issues
Heavy saturation of snow on your roof and water flooding can cause structural damage to your home. It can dampen your walls and impact the indoor temperature throughout your home. The constant presence of cold snow or freezing water over your roof will lead you to keep the thermostat on high, increasing your power consumption. While you may suspect an issue with your thermostat or heating system, your gutters are to blame. We highly recommend you a gutter repair specialist to avoid any heating issues in winter.
4. Leads to Ice Blockages & Icicles
Shiny icicles dangling down your gutters maybe a treat for your eyes but they are extremely harmful to your family, home and your pets. Icicles are formed in sub-freezing temperatures when the snow on your roof starts to melt and freezing dripping water takes a cylindrical shape. They can create cracks in your gutters, they are highly unreliable and can fall down at any time. Due to their sharp shape, they can cause serious physical injury. Similarly, the water that drains through your gutter pipes can freeze up and create ice blockages. You can hire a local gutter cleaner on a bi-weekly or monthly basis to get rid of these blockages and icicles. If you’re not trained in the trade, doing these tasks yourself can be dangerous.
5. Requires Roof Raking
Roof raking is the process of pulling the saturated heavy white snow off of your roof. A snowclad roof may look beautiful but it can create snow dams stopping melting snow water from exiting your roof. Heavy snow build-up on your roof can become heavy and the load can even create a hole in the roof. One misstep of not getting your gutters cleaned and repaired may lead your roof full of snow or a hole through it. Hire a snow removal specialist to complete roof raking.
Costs of Gutter Cleaning in Canada:
Below are the average costs of gutter cleaning across different cities in Canada.
| City | Average | Minimum | Maximum |
| Calgary | $153 | $100 | $200 |
| Edmonton | $208 | $200 | $227 |
| Guelph | $232 | $230 | $236 |
| Hamilton | $245 | $236 | $250 |
| Oshawa | $250 | $250 | $250 |
| Ottawa | $256 | $250 | $275 |
| Toronto | $367 | $275 | $500 |
| Vancouver | $960 | $500 | $5,500 |
*Costs as of November 2020
While not the most exciting or attractive feature of your home, proper gutter care is essential to maintain a comfortable and dry home. Failing to clean your gutters in fall or winter can lead to expensive repairs down the road. The good news is that it’s never too late to get your gutters cleaned if you hire the right professional. Be sure to research and hire a gutter cleaning company on HomeStars sooner rather than later.
