Do Clean Gutters = Less Allergies?
This question may not seem to make any sense at first. Why would your gutters have any sort of effect on your allergies? But the truth is that clean gutters will, in fact, help to decrease your allergies. When gutters become clogged with debris, a number of potentially expensive and harmful things can occur including:
• Leaky gutters
• Overflowing gutters, leading to flooded basements
• Mosquito infestation
• The production of harmful mold and mildew
It’s that last bullet point that should get your attention. Mold can wreak havoc on your allergies and can even give people allergies who have never had an issue with them. However, there are things that you can do to help to prevent the development of mold and mildew due to clogged gutters.
First, invest in gutter guards. These guards help to protect your gutters and keep debris from entering them and causing nasty clogs. If you’d rather not have gutter guards installed, be sure to regularly clean out your gutters—at least two times each year. This will help to prevent clogs from forming.
But what can you do if you’re already seeing mold development on your gutters? Don’t worry—there is a way to effectively clean that mold from your gutters to ensure that it won’t cause any further issues for your health. First, make a bleach solution by mixing together one part bleach with four parts water. Now grab your garden hose and spray the inside of the gutters—wet debris is a lot easier to deal with than dry debris.
Now set your ladder up against the house and go to work scooping out the loose and moist debris. Dump the debris onto the ground below or into a plastic bag for easy clean-up. Use your garden hose to spray out the remaining debris. Grab your bleach solution and spray down the molded areas. Allow it to sit for several minutes, and then go to work scrubbing the mildew clean with a gutter brush. Finally, use your hose to rinse out the gutters two or three times to get rid of the bleach solution and any remaining debris.
Do you now feel ready to take on mold that’s settled in your gutters?