Utah may not be in the news for wildfires as often as California, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any wildfires here. In fact, there have been over 380 wildfires in Utah this year so far, destroying more than 6,000 acres. There are some known precautions you can take to try to prevent your home from being destroyed by fire, but a lesser-known safety measure is rain gutter cleaning. Capitol Exteriors recommends cleaning your rain gutters at least twice a year — more often if you have trees near your West Jordan home.
What’s in Your Rain Gutters?
In wet and humid climates, debris in rain gutters can turn into a soupy mess. The leaves, sticks and twigs in the rain gutters don’t get a chance to dry out, and they then begin to rot, creating odors and moldy conditions.
That doesn’t happen too often here in West Jordan. In fact, the opposite is true — leaves and other debris in rain gutters tends to be dry and brittle. This is like a tinderbox attached to your roof. You are one lightning strike or errant spark away from your home igniting.
Wildfire Danger
Oftentimes wildfires can be mercilessly fickle, completely consuming a hundred homes and leaving three standing. Sometimes homes are spared due to a shift in the wind or the hard work of fire fighters, but other times, the reasoning seems elusive.
Wildfire experts across the country know one thing, however; debris in gutters is a serious risk to homes in wildfire country. Wildfires are famous for spawning tiny bits of glowing hot leaves, twigs or grasses and carrying them far away, where they can ignite a new fire. If one of these sparks reaches your gutters and they are filled with dry leaves and twigs, your entire roof could be aflame in a matter of minutes.
Gutter Cleaning in West Jordan
In some areas, it makes sense to have gutters cleaned every fall and spring. Once the leaves have finished falling, Capitol Exteriors will come out to your home for gutter cleaning, ensuring that your gutters are clear and in good repair for the approaching winter season, when they will be sorely needed to carry snowmelt from your roof away from your home.
After the leaves have fully come out in spring, it’s a good idea to get your gutters cleaned again to prepare them for spring and summer rains. Gutters can harbor more than falling leaves — they can become clogged with birds’ nests, moss and pine needles. If you notice birds have built a nest in your gutters after they have been cleaned for the season, call Capitol Exteriors for bird nest removal.
Owners of homes that have trees overhanging the roof or trees nearby may want to get their gutters cleaned more often to ensure they stay clear. Wildfires are a terrifying risk, but a more realistic daily threat from clogged gutters is water damage to your home.
When we clean the rain gutters at your West Jordan home, we’ll also check for any issues that would require rain gutter repair, such as sagging or separated sections of gutters. Call Capitol Exteriors today to make an appointment for rain gutter cleaning, repair or installation in the greater West Jordan area.
