This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

About Your Gutters...

They're dirty.

I used to think that it was enough to clean out the gutters once a year, after all the leaves fell. Not true, unfortunately.

Remember the pollen of April and May, so heavy that you had to cough it out even if you don't have allergies?  Your gutters can't cough.  They're filthy right now, unless you've cleaned them, and there's enough other debris from storms and so on to congest them.

What happens if they're congested?

Find out what's happening in College Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Step One: Rain water will be trapped, and mosquitoes will breed in them.

Step Two: Water will flow over the edges of the gutters and attack the foundations of your house. 

Find out what's happening in College Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New lesson - Suppose the downspout from the gutter to the ground is congested?  You'll know it is if (a) nothing comes out the bottom of the downspout, or (b) water from your hose comes out at one of the non-straight joining pieces.

The solution to this is high tech.  Take the handle of a broom or rake and smack the downspout at the place where you believe the congestion is.  Just keep whaling at it until the leaves and sticks and gunk drop and the water once again goes where it's supposed to.  Amazingly enough, the joining pieces that weren't sealing when they were congested will seal fine once you've smacked all the garbage out of there.

Mark Shroder is president of NCPCA and former City Councilman for District 1.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?