While gutter cleaning and maintenance is often thought of in the context of residential homes, commercial building owners should not neglect their buildings’ gutters either. Ideally, your building’s gutters should be cleaned twice a year to ensure proper drainage. Routine inspections of your building’s roof should also include the gutters, which are an integral part of your roofing system. At United Materials, we are proud to offer routine inspections to our customers.
Many people probably envision images of debris clogging gutters and downspouts. That should be a priority to check, especially after unusually strong weather and wind events. Leaves, tree branches, and other loose debris are frequently blown onto roofs and into gutters during significant weather events. Leaves and tree branches also fall onto roofs and into gutters during the normal course of seasonal changes. Either way, this debris should be removed often for proper functioning of your gutters and downspouts, not to mention the overall roof. It is also a good idea to trim nearby tree limbs back by at least 3 feet.
Gutters and downspouts should also be regularly and routinely checked to ensure that they are securely fastened and that they are not leaking. Any sign of staining, corrosion, loose fittings, seam separation, or other damage, should be immediately addressed. While seam separations can be repaired by resealing them, signs of rust or corrosion will involve replacement of the damaged section or sections. We also recommend removing mold and mildew from gutters by using a solution of 3 parts of water to 1 part bleach to do that. These problems should be tackled as soon as possible to prevent additional and more costly damage.
How Often Should Gutters Be Cleaned?
Another thing that building owners need to be aware of is how water flows away from their buildings. If building gutters are sagging in any way, that can change the pitch of them and slow water flow significantly. Additionally, if your gutters and downspouts are suffering from repeated blockage, you may want to consider adding gutter guards to prevent larger debris from causing more problems. It’s important to also note that, some buildings do not have gutters, they have scuppers, drains, and overflows. All these should be inspected and cleaned a minimum of twice a year.
We encourage our customers to consider purchasing our RoofGuard® Maintenance Plan, which will help determine the status of your rooftop drainage, gutters, and downspouts. Contact us at United Materials for all your rooftop maintenance and inspection needs.
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