Canadians are in the heart of the deep winter, and with that comes a ton of snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. These conditions are not really ideal for cleaning out eavestroughs, but does that necessarily mean that gutters can’t be cleaned in the winter? Is it still possible to clean out your eavestroughs during the colder months of the year?
It may surprise you that winter eavestrough maintenance is just as important as any other season.
Cleaning Your Eavestroughs in the Winter
If you’ve ever tried cleaning your gutters yourself, you know how challenging it can be, not to mention dangerous. The job of cleaning out gutters on a nice day is hard enough, but cleaning them in the winter when you’re dealing with frigid temperatures and tons of snow and ice is another ordeal altogether.
Nonetheless, cleaning out your gutters in the winter can certainly be warranted in the right conditions. When you clean out your eavestroughs during any other time of the year, you’re typically dealing with removing leaves and other debris. Even if the debris is wet from rain, it won’t be frozen.
Instead of using your hands to remove debris from your gutters in the winter, you may have to use other apparatus, such as a scooper, to dig out any snow and ice along with anything else that may be in your gutters and potentially blocking run-off. It may even be necessary to use a sharp tool that can be used to chip away at any ice that may have accumulated in your gutters.
When you’re up the ladder and are face-to-face with your eavestroughs, there are a few things you should look out for.
First and foremost, look out for any signs of damage to your eavestroughs. This could be in the form of clogs, holes, dents, and rotting. If you identify any such issues, they should be rectified right away.
It’s also important to look for any signs of pooling of water. This situation can compromise the integrity of the system and prevent it from doing its job properly. After all, the main goal of an eavestrough system is to ensure that any water is collected and directed away from your home so there’s no risk of any potential water damage from pooled water.
Lastly, see if there is any sign of seepage at the seams of your eavestroughs. There may even be gaps in places that shouldn’t have gaps that may be allowing water to seep through.
These are all things that you may be able to identify on your own. But your best bet is to enlist the services of professionals who have the know-how and the equipment to ensure the job is not only done properly and thoroughly, but safely too.
When it’s time to have your eavestroughs cleaned — even in the winter — get in touch with Tip Top Trough today!
