Jacksonville gutter cleaning services
In most areas of the country, cleaning out a home's gutters is typically a fall or spring home maintenance chore. This is because tree leaves fall seasonally, and many of the leaves that fall onto a roof or that blow onto a home by strong winds can ultimately form a clog in the gutters. When you live in a warm weather, subtropical climate that lacks a distinctive fall season, you understandably could assume that gutter cleaning is not needed. However, many Jacksonville residents who have made this assumption have been faced with significant and expensive consequences.
Gutters on any home can get clogged for several reasons. Season foliage falling from trees is uncommon in Jacksonville. This coastal location has mild winters with average lows above 40 degrees. Highs in the winter average in the 60s. Winters are dry, and humidity is lower than during the warmer months of the year. With these pleasant conditions, most local trees remain green throughout the year. Some of Jacksonville's many common tree types are sassafras, oak, persimmon, sweet gum, cypress, flowering dogwood, and others.
Jacksonville has hot, humid summer months, but sunshine is not prevalent throughout all hours of a typical day. Summer is the wettest season in this coastal location. Hurricanes and tropical storms are common and can drop several inches of rain within a few hours. They also bring strong winds that can strip trees of many of their leaves. Afternoon thunderstorms are common throughout the summer and may bring brief downpours.
The loss of leaves on local trees can also occur because of pest damage and arbor diseases, such as oak wilt, brown spot, and others. Extreme stress is another cause, and this stress is most commonly associated with extreme weather conditions. Keep in mind that leaves do not have to fall onto the roof or gutters to make their way into these spaces. Birds, rodents and other critters collect leaves and use them for nesting purposes. Gutters are a protective environment that are commonly used for nesting. It is difficult to peer into your gutters so there may be one or several active or vacant nests creating clogs at this time.
Because of how heavy and frequent rain showers can be in Jacksonville, gutters must be in excellent condition at all times to do their critical job. Gutters are protective features that reduce the incidence of erosion around your home's foundation. They can also reduce the risk of roof damage, rotten siding, and other issues that can be expensive to repair. Even a partial blockage in your gutters can make these critical features less functional and beneficial than they need to be.
Some Jacksonville homeowners clean the downspouts and gutters when they notice the presence of a visible clog. At this point, however, some property damage may have already occurred. A better idea is to tackle this home maintenance task at least annually as well as after major storms pass through the area.
Before you pull out your ladder, and start cleaning out the gutters, take time to understand what this project entails. It is generally an arduous task that has the risk of personal injury. The process begins when you pull yourself up to the top of a ladder and start removing leaves and other matter from the gutters. This debris may be matted and require significant effort to scrape out. Because you are on a ladder, you can only work small segments. Once you have completed your effort at one section, you must move the ladder over a few feet. Altogether, you may climb up and down the ladder a dozen times or more before the gutter gunk has been removed.
In most cases, the gutters should be rinsed out or power washed as a final step. This may require you to relocate the ladder several more times. Injuries are a concern because the work takes place on the top of the ladder. You must use one or both hands to complete the job, so there is a risk of falling.
Each time you clean your Jacksonville home's gutters, you are faced with a risky, strenuous task. You may also need to do the work in intense heat with high humidity or strong winds. Think about all of the better ways for you to spend these hours. Jacksonville is a hotbed of excitement and culture, and you can enjoy all that it brings to the table on your own or in the company of friends and family. Live shows at the Times-Union Center and the Ritz Theatre are an excellent way to add culture to your week. You could check out live, permanent or temporary exhibits at the local zoo, the city's botanical gardens, the Bryan Gooding Planetarium, the Jacksonville Arboretum, the Kingsley Plantation, the Cummer Museum of Art and other attractions.
From checking out home games for local sports teams to seeing the next big blockbuster at your neighborhood theater, there are numerous ways to spend a few free hours that are safer and more enjoyable than cleaning the gutters. However, nobody wants to risk a significant amount of property damage that can occur when gutters are dirty. If you are looking for an easy way to clean your gutters, put Lawn Love to work for you.
This project could potentially take you hours of tiring effort to complete if you attempt it yourself, and it can be grueling on the hottest and most humid days of the year. There is no need to put yourself through this experience when a better solution is available.
Lawn Love's gutter cleaning services in the Jacksonville area can be scheduled at any time of the year. Whether you want preemptive service before a serious clog develops or your gutters are noticeably filthy, we are ready to help.
