Now that fall is here, 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 home maintenance is the gutter.
According to Keith Paul, president of Plymouth, Mich. based HandyPro Handyman Service, 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 check 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:
1. 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.
2. If you have lots of trees around your home, consider putting screen over the gutters to keep leaves out.
3. 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.
4. Make sure the downspouts drain far enough away from the home to avoid puddles in the grass. Buy downspout extensions to help the water drain farther from the home if necessary.
5. 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.
Paul added that gutters that don't leak also prevents 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 don't
like to be on top of their roof.
"Many homeowners, especially senior citizens, are not comfortable climbing on a roof clean or fix their gutters, and 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's better to have a professional service do it rather than risk an injury if someone falls off a ladder or a roof."
HandyPro has been providing handyman services in the Detroit-area since 1996. HandyPro currently services Wayne and Oakland Counties with franchises in Dallas, Honolulu and Minneapolis. For more information on HandyPro, call 800-9-Handy-4
This article was written by Keith Paul of HandyPro Handyman Services, Inc. For more home improvement tips and services go to http://www.handypro.com
HandyPro Handyman Services of Southeast Michigan services the following areas:
Oakland County, Addison Township, Auburn Hills, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Clawson, Commerce Township, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Franklin, Hazel Park, Highland Township, Holly, Holly Township, Huntington Woods, Independence Township, Keego Harbor, Lathrup Village, Lyon Township, Madison Heights, Milford, Milford Township, Northville, Novi, Oak Park, Oakland Township, Orchard Lake, Orion Township, Oxford Township, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield, South Lyon, Troy, Walled Lake, Waterford Township, West Bloomfield Township, White Lake Township, Wixom
Wayne County, Belleville, Brownstown Township, Canton Township, Dearborn, Dearborn
Heights, Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, Hamtramck, Inkster, Livonia, Northville Township, Plymouth, Redford Township, Riverview, Romulus, Taylor, Trenton, Wayne,
Westland, Wyandotte
Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor, Bridgewater, Chelsea, Dexter, Manchester, Salem, Saline,
Superior Township, Whitmore Lake, Whittaker, Willis, and Ypsilanti
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