What To Do With Gutter Waste

Owning a home comes with the inevitable responsibility of conducting frequent maintenance throughout the year. Not only does it help maintain your home's property value, but it also helps prevent the likelihood of paying unexpected costs that result from otherwise preventable damage.

When it comes to your exterior property, your gutter system is an important feature that helps protect your home from water damage. As you may already know, water damage to your home can be expensive. Therefore, ensuring your gutter system functions optimally throughout the year is important.

Your home's gutter system is responsible for collecting rainwater during storm season and diverting it away from your property through downspouts. However, if you have an open-faced gutter system or gutter guards that aren't installed correctly, throughout the year, your gutters may end up collecting fallen leaves, twigs, and other debris as well. Over time, this may cause your gutter systems to clog and prevent water from flowing away from your home correctly if you do not ensure regular upkeep. As a result, your home could be at risk of water damage.

Keep reading if you want to learn more about what to do with gutter waste.

What to Do with Gutter Waste?

Whether it’s twigs, fallen leaves, pine needles, or other debris, your gutter system can realistically collect anything throughout the year. And while a couple of pieces of debris here and there might not be anything to worry about, over time, it can collect and potentially prevent your gutter system from draining properly.

Therefore, you may be wondering what to do with gutter waste as it collects throughout the year. For the most part, if your gutters are filled with debris from trees and dirt, you can either use it for compost or dispose of it with your neighborhood garbage collection. On the other hand, if you find plastics, toys or other items, it might be best to collect them in a plastic bag and dispose of them separately with your garbage collection service.

What happens to all the stuff in my gutters?

Unfortunately, your gutter system won't clean itself. Therefore, you will either have to hire a professional gutter company to remove the debris or do it yourself manually. This may require you to climb up to the height of your gutters using a ladder and remove the waste with your hands before collecting it into a container or bag that you can dispose of properly. While this can seem like a hassle, if you do not clean out your gutters a couple of times a year, your home may become prone to water damage, including:

• Insect and pest infestations
• Erosion of your landscaping
• The growth of mold, mildew, and rust
• Leaks in your basement and upper levels of your property
• Staining on the side of your home
• Rotting of your home

Alternatively, if maintaining your gutter system is not something you want to commit to or have someone else do for you on your behalf, you may benefit from installing LeafGuard® gutters. LeafGuard® gutters are designed using a one-piece patented system guaranteed to prevent debris from falling into your gutters. This means your gutter system won't clog or leak. However, it also helps ensure that you won’t have to clean your gutters, while still protecting your home from potential water damage.

How to dispose of gutter debris

Once you have removed the debris collected throughout your gutter system, you can either use the tree contents and dirt as compost for your garden or dispose of it with your garbage collection system. However, it is essential to remember to remove any plastics, toys, dead animals, and other items from the plant contents as they will need to be disposed of separately.

Is it normal for gutters to overflow in heavy rain?

Open-faced gutter systems and gutter systems with incorrectly installed gutter guards may be prone to overflowing during heavy rainfall. This happens when fallen debris collects into the bottom of your gutters, preventing water from draining correctly. Since the water has nowhere to go, it will continue to collect before overflowing over the sides, especially when raining heavily.

However, LeafGuard® gutters can help prevent water from overflowing during heavy rainfall. In fact, it has been proven to withstand up to 32 inches of rain per hour which is three times the amount of the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the United States.

How often should I have my gutters cleaned?

Realistically, homeowners should clean their gutters at least 1 – 2 times a year to help avoid clogging. On the other hand, if you have a LeafGuard® gutter system installed, you will not have to clean your gutters due to their design.

If you want to learn more about how LeafGuard® gutters can benefit you and your home, book a free consultation with the experts at Local Home Pro today.