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Whether you have gutters installed, plan to replace them, or simply need them added onto your home, gutter guards are something that you should be considering. If you paid attention to your parents or grandparents, you know how important it is to install gutters. You also know that cleaning the gutters is just as important. At least twice a year you should dig the ladder out and clean out all your gutters.
After putting out the expense in putting up gutters, or repairing them, you may be at a point where you think the added costs of guards will simply not be worth the hassle or the expense. That is actually extremely far from the truth. It may be even more important to maximize your investment and protect your assets. There are numerous reasons why they should be installed, so let us get right to it and go over a few reasons why gutter guards are so important.
Picture Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/rain-water-roof-gutter-storm-wet-432770/
- Gutter Cleaning: You do not want to get the idea that you will never have to clean your gutters again. It is true that guards will decrease the times that you have to get on the ladder every year. The whole point of them is to keep the gutters from plugging up, which they do very well. But no matter what type of guards you put in place, you will have debris getting through, so when you climb up to sweep the stuff off the top of the guard, you might as well spray out the main sections of the gutter.
- Damage: Installing gutter covers can maximize the effectiveness of the water drainage system. The whole point of putting up rain gutters was to keep the water from damaging your house. Covers help this by stopping any large clumps of debris, or large tree limbs or pinecones, from getting stuck in the main sections of the gutter. If that happens, as you well know, water will back up and cause damage to your home.
- Pest Control: A buildup of debris will make a delightful home for insects, birds, rodents, or any other type of pest. Along with the critters that you will have to deal with, the predators that feed on them will come around on a regular basis. Pests, and the ones that hunt them, cause extensive damage to the home. It is never a promising idea to allow them to hang out for more than a quick visit.
- Fire Protection: This is probably an aspect of protection that the guards offer that you never even thought off. Debris buildup can dry out and cause an area that is at substantial risk for catching on fire. If your children decide to shoot off a few bottle rockets and they land on your roof when they fall back to the Earth, your house could be engulfed in flames within minutes. If you live in an area prone to wildfires, it can make an easy jump point for one, which will get you nice and warm for a minute.
The bottom line is that regardless of what the contractors in your area are saying, gutter screens and guards are a great idea. It saves you money in a ton of separate ways, and it will save you time. Even when you do have to get up there and clean everything off, it will be a much easier task. So much easier, in fact, that you could simply hire a neighborhood kid to do it for you. It will not cost you much, and you can sit back and supervise while they get dirty and attacked by bees.