Gutter Shelters Offer an Escape from Autumn’s Most Hated Chore

The turning of the leaves from green into showy shades of red, gold and orange is certainly one of the most beautiful parts of the season, but as soon as the leaves begin to drift downward, every homeowner knows the chore of gutter cleaning won’t be far behind.

Despite the bags of leaves and downed sticks that are raked from the lawn, many more are caught in the gutters of your home making a dirty, decomposing mash that will need to be removed before freezing temperatures make it into the forecast. While gutter cleaning falls low on the want-to-do list, it’s a necessary evil that can be instrumental to protecting your home’s basement, foundation, shrubbery and landscaping.

Before beginning this chore, make sure that you have a sturdy freestanding ladder. Leaning a ladder against the home can leave an unlucky climber to the mercy of uneven surfaces and whatever debris the feet of the ladder are resting on. Next, make sure that the ladder easily reaches to the height of the guttering without any need to reach or stretch beyond what is naturally comfortable. Anyone who has seen “National’s Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” knows the harm that can be caused by a too-short ladder.

Once you’ve located the right ladder and placed it at the appropriate height, lay a drop cloth under the length of the guttering to catch the wet and probably somewhat smelly gutter debris. Consider adding a pair of gloves and grab a garden trowel to help you remove the bulk of the leaves, sticks, acorns and whatever other miscellaneous material the birds and squirrels have stashed in the gutter over the spring. After removing the debris, assess the gutter for any leaks by rinsing out the space with a stream of water from the garden hose, sending the liquid in the direction of the downspout.

Then you can stow the ladder until the next big wind brings down more leaves and the process begins anew, but there is a solution. Continental Siding’s Gutter Shelters protect gutters from excess debris and also move rainwater away from your home. Gutter Shelter uses liquid adhesion, the attachment of a material to a surface, to transport rainwater from the roof to the gutter. Debris that’s carried with the rain is then blocked by the Gutter Shelter where it falls to the ground. Once installed, the 3/8-inch horizontal opening created by the Gutter Shutter blocks birds and other animals from making your gutters their seasonal storage area.

Gutter Shelters are the perfect complement to Continental Siding’s seamless guttering and can be easily color matched to existing gutters and siding. Our seamless guttering is available in 4-, 5-, and 6-inch sizes for residential use and 7 inch for commercial use. Call today for a custom solution for seamless siding, gutters and/or Gutter Shutters.

This article was brought to you by Continental Siding in Kansas City, your Midwest siding company. We’re a leading provider of home improvement products and services that aim to help homes looking great and performing well.