How Gutters In Harsh Climates Can Sabotage Your Home

Fall is an ideal time to clean out your gutters in preparation to the impending doom of winter ahead. Luckily for us, the climate here is mild enough to never have to deal with things like freezing gutters. In areas with harsher climates, there are home maintenance tasks that must be done or else your home’s structure could suffer.

Damage From Ice

One of the worst causes of damage to gutters that snowballs (no pun intended) into a bigger problem for homes is ice. Snow or rain accumulates in the gutter and freezes solid, causing a frozen clog in the gutters that prevents the ice from properly draining. When snow is heavier and the roof is covered in a thick blanket of ice, the layer closest to the house begins to melt while the frozen outer layer keeps it trapped causing the melted snow to creep into the roof beneath the shingles, tar paper, and beyond after a while. Thoroughly cleaning out your gutters will aid in preventing this.

Fire Caused by Gutters

At the other extreme, hot and dry climates are responsible causing destructive fires when very dry leaf litter clogs up gutters. This is why it’s so important to take care of gutter cleaning in Northern Beaches of Australia and arid desert landscapes of the southwestern US and Europe. Sparks from your firepit or lighting can be all that is needed to start the raging fire that takes down your home. Once a spark catches on, it’s frightening how incredibly quick a fire can spread, grow, and destroy.