The Top Reasons to Keep Your Gutters Clean

Gutters are what protect your home’s foundation, doors, walls, and ceiling from water damage. They also help prevent cases of basement flooding while minimizing soil erosion around the property. When working properly, gutters can help protect the patios and fascia from any type of water related decay or staining, too. 

If you want to enjoy all the benefits offered by a gutter system, you must ensure they aren’t clogged with dust, leaves, or other debris. With regular gutter cleaning, you can eliminate all the debris from your gutters, making sure they work as needed. 

If you aren’t convinced that gutter cleaning is a smart investment, keep reading. Here you can learn about all the benefits offered by regular gutter maintenance. 

Help Prevent Water Damage from Occurring in or Around the Home 

A top reason that gutters need to be cleaned is to help prevent water damage. This is one of the top causes of structural damage. Modern gutters are designed to channel water from the roof, away from the home and foundation. 

However, when gutters are clogged, they will flood the foundation, reducing building integrity. Along with spoiling your foundation, blocked gutters may also result in roof leaks that will damage the walls, flooring, ceiling, fascia boards, other parts of the building. 

If these issues are not managed, this may reduce the building’s stability. This can also result in a reduction in the building’s value. Cleaning your gutters is the top way to maintain your structure’s glory. 

Eliminate Pest Nests 

Another benefit of investing in gutter cleaning services is to get rid of all the twigs and leaves, along with the other debris that may serve as breeding and nesting places for pests like birds, mice, mosquitoes, insects, rats, and more. Also, the debris in the gutters may begin to decompose forming organic matter that supports the growth of plants, fungi, and tree seedlings. It is commonly known that pests like bugs, rats, and mosquitoes breeding in clogged gutters will spread deadly diseases. 

Tree seedlings may cause serious damage to your roof, all while giving your home an ugly appearance. With regular gutter cleaning services, you can prevent these nesting areas and eliminate the organic matter that pests thrive on. 

Prevent Damaging or Destruction of Landscaping

Landscaping is a crucial process that helps improve the aesthetics of a home. Along with adding beauty to the home, your landscaping will also improve the value, regulate temperature extremes, and improves the liability and comfort inside the home. 

However, you may not know that clogged gutters may actually damage your landscaping. If water is unmanaged because of clogged gutters, it may cause soil erosion, damage flowers, and destroy the plants you have selected for your landscaping. 

As you can see, clean gutters are an asset to your home. If you are concerned that your gutters are not clean or that you haven’t had them cleaned in a while, calling the professionals is a smart move. They can ensure your gutters work properly.

Don’t Let Dirty Solar Panels Decrease Your Home’s Energy Efficiency

If your home or business has solar panels, they may not be working to their full potential. Dirt, pollen, grime, and fungus may be covering your solar panels, blocking the full extent of the suns rays from getting through. While solar panels are primarily self sufficient and low maintenance, there are instances where you may need to have them cleaned.

Tilted panels have been found to require less cleaning than those that installed lying flat. Even a minimum of a five degree angle can help debris slide off of the panels before it becomes baked on by the sun. Typically, normal amounts of debris such as pollen and dirt have minimal negative impacts on solar panel efficiency. However, if the panels become badly stained with grime, they can are not able to reach their full potential.

Causes Of Solar Panel Grime

Exceptions that create conditions for solar panels to be in need of cleaning can range form bird droppings, heavy pollen seasons, and if your structure is near industrial or agricultural sites. In these instances, enough grime can be generated that your solar panels will need to be cleaned to make sure they are working properly. 

Leaves And Debris

Stuck on fall leaves and heavy snow can also wreak havoc on your solar panel systems. While the snow may melt quickly, it can cement tree leaves to the glass in its wake. These leaves remain on the glass as they break down, leaving sometimes substantial build up that blocks the suns rays.

Location

If your home or business is located in areas that receive little rain, you may need to clean your solar panels more than those that get cleaned naturally from constant downpours. If you see a thick film accumulating on your panels or notice that their efficiency is dropping, it is time to have them cleaned.

Before You Proceed

Before you have your solar panels cleaned, it is best to contact their manufacturer to find out their recommendations and make note any possible concerns. It is recommended that you do not attempt to climb out on your roof and clean the panels yourself as the safety of yourself and your panels are primary concerns. Contacting a professional cleaning company will ensure that your panels are cleaned correctly and safely.

Call The Professionals

SG Window Cleaning provides professional cleaning services for residential and commercial solar panels that will help you keep them working at their fullest potential. When your panels have become dingy and dirty with grime, our experienced technicians can have them sparkling in the sunlight again. Don’t let dirty solar panels slow your business’s home’s energy efficiency, call SG Window Cleaning today.

Spring Cleaning Should Include Window Washing

Spring is the time of the year when home owners begin to clean out and clean up their homes. While we tend to focus our outdoor cleaning efforts on landscaping and yard work, it is important to make sure the exterior of our homes is clean and damage free.

Winter Can Be Hard On Windows

The long, dark, and damp winter months can reak havoc on the exterior of our homes and other structures on our property. Snow and ice can collect dirt and debris that become stuck to our homes, leaving a grimey mess coating windows and siding. Dust and dirt also collect around the windows of our homes, adding layers of filth that is unsightly as well as possibly damaging to windows themselves.

Importance Of Keeping Windows Clean

In order to keep windows working properly, it is important to make sure that they are properly cleaned and cared for. However, it is equally important to use the proper window cleaning tools and techniques so that damage to the seals and other parts of the window does not occur during the cleaning process.

Throughout the seasons windows collect a variety of grime, from pollen to molds and mildews, each causing its own issues for the exterior of our homes. Depending on the degree of dirt and grime on a window, cleaning may entail more than a soap and sponge.

Tools And Equipment

Various tools such as power pressure washers can be used to make quick work of extremely caked on grime and dirt. Capable of removing tough stains of any sort, these tools use high pressured water to knock off the layers of dirt on and around the windows. However, due to the force that can be created with this type of equipment, appropriate handling is necessary in order to avoid causing damage to the window and it’s seals.

Power washers are also cumbersome to maneuver when trying to clean second story or hard to reach windows on a home. Even getting the basic cleaning tools up to some windows can be precarious and possibly dangerous. Fortunately, there are better ways to ensure your windows are cleaned properly and safely.

Let Professionals Handle The Dirty Work

SG Window Cleaning provides an array of services designed to meet and exceed the needs of their customers. With a variety of equipment and expert knowledge in the proper cleaning and care of all types of windows, SG Window Cleaning goes to great lengths to make sure your windows are perfectly cleaned.

Taking care of the exterior of your home is important in maintaining its structural integrity. Window cleaning is not only good for your home’s curb appeal, it is also imperative to keeping your windows in working order. Contact SG Window Cleaning and get started on your spring cleaning list today.

The Biggest Benefits of Professional Gutter Cleaning Services

The gutters are one of the essential parts of your home’s roof. To ensure they are working correctly, they must be free of debris. If your gutters aren’t clean, some serious issues may occur.

If you haven’t cleaned your gutters recently or hired someone to do this for you, you may be in trouble. Keep reading to learn some of the biggest benefits offered by regular gutter cleaning services here.

Avoid Gutter and Fascia Damage

The fascia is the board that mounts just under the roof, and it is where the gutters connect. If your gutters become clogged, they can overflow, and the water spilled will get into the fascia boards, resulting in severe damage. If your gutters are clogged, it may mean that your fascia is damaged, too. However, the fascia isn’t the only material that is affected by these clogs. When the gutter is carrying all that extra weight for long periods, the damage is likely going to happen.

Avoid Ice Dams

When colder temperatures move in, the water in the clogged gutter will turn into ice. This is yet another clogging issue that you may have to deal with throughout the season. One of the main functions of your gutter is to keep icicles from forming on your roof because they can cause serious damage to the shingles. If gutters are clogged, this will only make a bad situation worse. The additional weight of the ice can cause the gutter to be ripped off the roof entirely.

Prevent a Leaky Roof

The roof is what protects your home from all the outside elements, including the rain, snow, and sun. If your gutters are clogged, they may cause a leaky roof because the melted ice and water aren’t flowing properly through the drain. Instead, the water will remain on the roof until it makes it to the plaster, drywall, and insulation.

Avoid Cases of Interior Damage

After the water has made its way into the wall cavities or ceiling, it is going to result in staining. If you have water stains on the ceiling, you can repaint them; however, repairs are also going to be necessary. If the moisture problem isn’t addressed, rot may occur, which can cause mold. This is considered severe damage. If you notice serious damage, you should consider more than just gutter maintenance – at this point, gutter repair is needed.

Cracks in the Foundation

Gutter issues can affect almost every part of your home, including the foundation. If water overflows from the gutter, it will go everywhere, and the most likely place for it to go is into the home’s foundation. If water makes it here, it may freeze, which will affect the integrity and strength of the foundation.

If you want to avoid serious problems with your gutters, make sure to contact the professionals. They can ensure your gutters are clean and that they remain clog-free throughout the year, which will prevent the problems mentioned above.