Why Gutter Cleaning Is Important
Gutter Cleaning Sarasota is a vital task that prevents costly damage to your roof, walls, and foundation. Clean gutters channel excess water away from your home, preventing leaks and mold growth.
If you’re comfortable working on a ladder and don’t mind the mess, gutter cleaning can be a cost-effective weekend project. However, be sure to practice ladder safety protocols like keeping your body between the side rails and working on level ground.
Gutters are narrow channels attached to the edge of your roof that collect rainwater and direct it away from the house through downspouts. When these channels become clogged, rainwater can build up around the foundation of your home, leading to cracks in the foundation. This can be a major problem that can require costly repairs to fix, and it’s one of the primary reasons you need to clean your gutters regularly.
Unmanaged water from clogged gutters can stain your siding and damage the appearance of your roofing shingles. If you notice damp wall corners, streaks on window glass, or stains on baseboards, this may be a sign that your gutters are clogged. You may also notice a musty odor, which indicates that mold is growing inside wall materials like wood framing and drywall.
Clogged gutters can also cause water to pool on the roof, damaging shingles and causing cracks in your ceiling or attic floor. Wet sheetrock can lead to rot and decay, which could require extensive and expensive repairs.
Gutter cleaning is a job that requires climbing up on a ladder or on the roof, so it’s important to take your safety seriously. Make sure you use a sturdy ladder and always have someone help you hold it steady while you’re up there. It’s also a good idea to have some heavy-duty gloves and a gutter scoop or brush for removing debris from the top of your gutters.
Keeping your gutters free of debris is the best way to prevent problems with water flow and clogs. In addition, regular gutter cleaning can also improve the beauty and value of your property by reducing the look of rust and algae on your roof and siding. Plus, a clean gutter is less likely to attract pests and critters that can harm your landscaping. Gutter cleaning is an easy, inexpensive way to protect your investment in your home and keep it looking its best.
Clogged Gutters Can Lead to Pest Infestation
Gutters do a great job of keeping water away from your home, but they can also provide an inviting habitat for pests. This is because gutters often collect leaves, twigs, moss, pine needles and other outdoor debris. When combined with stagnant water, this creates a moist environment that’s ideal for many types of pests.
Cockroaches, termites, earwigs, silverfish, ants and more are all drawn to this type of environment and can cause significant damage to your home over time if not dealt with properly. Fortunately, regular gutter cleaning can help prevent these pesky insects from invading your home by ensuring that water flows freely through and away from your property.
Gutter cleaning is particularly important if your home has tall trees that drop a lot of debris in the fall. In addition, homeowners should consider a maintenance plan for their gutters in the spring to ensure they’re ready for new growth and flowers.
Besides the pests mentioned above, squirrels and other rodents are attracted to clogged gutters, as they make an easy nesting area. These animals can cause additional problems by chewing through the gutters, causing clogs and preventing proper water flow. In addition, if they live in your attic or other part of the house that has a low roofline, they may be able to burrow under the shingles and into the structure of the building, creating further issues.
Gutters that are clogged can also pose a threat to your landscaping and your health. If water is prevented from flowing away from your property, it can wash away your mulch, kill your flowers or even destroy the plants you’ve worked hard to establish in your garden.
If you’re not a fan of climbing up on ladders to clean your gutters, or you find yourself dealing with an infestation of pesky pests, consider a maintenance service that offers gutter cleaning and gutter guards. Cowleys offers a range of gutter guards that are designed to keep your gutters clear and flowing smoothly, even when the weather is not ideal. Contact us today to see how we can help!
Clogged Gutters Can Lead to Mold Growth
Clogged gutters create the perfect breeding ground for mold, mildew, and fungus. These conditions are incredibly toxic for you and your family, especially if anyone in the household has allergies or asthma. Mold spores can also be aggravated by individuals with existing respiratory conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition to making the living environment uncomfortable for those in the house, harmful mold spores can spread throughout the home and cause more serious health problems.
Gutter cleaning is essential to keeping your roof in good condition. In addition to preventing costly roof leaks and water damage, a clean gutter system channels excess rainwater away from the foundation of your house, protecting your basement from flooding, and allowing you to avoid expensive foundation repairs down the road.
When rainwater can’t flow through a clogged gutter, it pools up and seeps into your foundation or the area around your home’s exterior walls. Over time, this can lead to rot and mold growth in the basement and attic. It can also damage furniture, books, and other items stored in the basement or attic.
Clogged gutters can also create an ideal nesting place for a variety of unwanted insects and animals. Leaves, twigs, and other debris that collect in your gutter can attract birds, rats, mice, bees, wasps, spiders, mosquitoes, and other pests. The presence of these critters can degrade the aesthetic appeal of your property and increase your maintenance costs.
Clogged gutters can also contribute to erosion of the soil and plants around your house. The water that overflows from a clogged gutter can erode dirt, mulch, and the roots of trees and shrubs around your home. This can eventually result in the settlement of your foundation, which can be extremely costly to repair. Regular gutter cleaning is an affordable way to prevent this problem and protect your investment in your landscaping.
Clogged Gutters Can Lead to Damage to Your Roof
Gutters work to direct rainwater from your roof down and away from your house. They can’t do that if they are clogged. Leaves, twigs, debris, shingle grit and animals all find their way into your gutters over time. The combination of these things can block water flow and cause it to overflow. Then your home suffers damage.
If rainwater cannot be vacated from your roof, it will build up there until it’s too much for your roof to handle. This can lead to water leaking into your attic, basement or other parts of your home. Leaks will also cause rot, mildew and mold, which can endanger your family’s health.
Another problem that can be caused by clogged gutters is foundation damage. When rainwater is unable to be directed away from your home’s foundation, it will begin to pool around the base of your house. Over time, this can lead to cracks and sinking. This can be costly to repair and endanger the integrity of your home.
Besides leaks and other structural problems, clogged gutters can also end up causing damage to your roof. When water pools on your roof, it can wear away at the shingles or tiles and cause them to break apart or fall off. Over time, this can lead to a full roof replacement.
One of the best ways to prevent clogs is by cleaning your gutters regularly. Regular cleaning can eliminate leaves, twigs and other debris that can clog your gutters. This can help protect your roof from premature wear and tear and save you money in the long run.
When it comes to gutter maintenance, there are some things that you can do on your own and some that you should leave to the professionals. For example, you can install downspout screens to catch small debris before it can clog your downspouts. You can also trim overhanging branches to limit the amount of debris that will fall into your gutters. Finally, you should always use a ladder when accessing your roof and gutters to avoid injury. Remember to spread a tarp beneath your ladder and wear proper safety gear, such as a harness and gloves, when working on your gutters.
How to Prepare Your Parking Lot For Sealcoating
Sealcoating can be a messy job, so workers will need to wear the appropriate safety gear. They will also need to power wash the surface and treat oil stains with a special primer.
Smart property owners know that regular seal coating can save them money in the long run by extending the life of their parking lots and driveways. It protects the asphalt from oil and fuel spills and chemical penetration that degrades it.
Asphalt is made up of aggregate, which is rock or stone and gravel, held together by a binder that is created from the distillation of certain crude oils. The pavement degrades and becomes brittle over time, especially when exposed to the elements such as rain, UV rays, chemicals, or automobile traffic.
Sealcoating is an essential part of asphalt maintenance that is used to protect the pavement from damage and prolong its life. Professional seal coating services provide a number of benefits, including a jet black finish that looks like new pavement and reduces maintenance costs.
Before applying sealcoat, the surface must be cleaned of all dirt, debris, and oil. It’s important that the surface is free of any contaminants that could interfere with the adhesion of the sealer to the pavement. This is done with gas blowers, scrub brushes, and water hoses. The entire pavement should be clean before the sealing crew begins working.
If you don’t clean the surface thoroughly, it will be difficult to apply a thick and even coat of sealer. This can result in flakes or shedding of the sealcoat. It’s best to allow the surface to dry completely before applying any more layers of sealer.
A paved surface that is properly maintained will look great and attract customers to your business or residential property. The dark, sleek appearance of smooth pavement is also more attractive than old and cracking concrete, which can give off a negative impression to passersby.
Regularly scheduled sealcoating ensures that the surface of the pavement stays in like-new condition, which is critical to maintaining a commercial property’s curb appeal. It’s also easier to maintain a lot with smooth pavement than one with numerous cracks, which may need more frequent cleaning and repairs. If you’re interested in learning more about how sealcoating can benefit your asphalt, contact The Paving Lady to schedule a consultation! We offer a variety of products and services to enhance the quality of your parking lot, making it safer and more attractive for your customers and tenants. We proudly serve clients throughout the region.
Prep the Area
As with any job, it is important that your parking lot be properly prepped for sealcoating. Typically, this means removing all vehicles and equipment from the area so that it can be blocked off and made inaccessible to everyone during the process. This also ensures that nobody is driving through a fresh coat of sealer that hasn’t fully cured.
During this stage, workers will likely blow or sweep the surface of your asphalt to remove all loose pebbles and debris, ensuring that the surface is ready for a new layer of protection. This is also the time to complete any needed repairs. Potholes and other damage must be filled, and weeds should be pulled to prevent their return once the pavement is sealed.
A final sweep will help to clear any other materials away from the pavement, such as wood chips or mulch. This will allow for a smoother finish and an even appearance after the sealant has been applied. It is a good idea to use a power washer to wash away any chemical residue from fertilizers or paints that may be present on the blacktop as well.
You’ll want to make sure that the pavement is free of any moisture as well, as it can wash away freshly applied sealer before it has had a chance to bond. A day without rain is ideal for the application of sealer, and it’s important that any sprinklers are turned off a full 24 hours prior to your scheduled process as well as for a full day after.
It’s also a good idea to apply two coats of sealer rather than one thick coat. This will give you a more polished black look, and it will also help to extend the lifespan of your pavement by protecting it from oil, fuel, and other chemicals that can soften or degrade it over time.
Depending on the type of sealcoat used, it can take between 24-48 hours for your parking lot to dry completely after it has been sealed. This is important, as traffic on a wet surface can cause the sealcoat to crack and peel.
Stage the Barrel
The next step is to prepare the sealcoating for use. This means checking to make sure that the transfer hose is connected and that the sealcoating system’s lower ball valve is in the closed position. Before you do anything else, though, fill the barrel halfway with water and swish it around a few times to remove any small charring. This process is called curing the barrel and it’s something that every professional do before they use it for the first time.
The reason that curing is so important is because it’s the only way that the sealcoating can attain full cure. Sealcoatings start to release water into the ambient atmosphere as soon as they are applied, and the surrounding air acts like a large piece of blotting paper to soak up the released moisture. As the sealcoating releases water its volume shrinks which in turn allows the bottom layers to fully bond with the underlying pavement material. To achieve a good bond, all of the water has to leave the wet film.
In humid conditions, the wet sealer film has very little capacity for water to be absorbed, so it has to leave the wet film at a much faster rate. This explains why sealcoatings applied in humid conditions take longer to dry and cure than those that are applied under less humid conditions.
This is the primary reason why it’s very important to only apply sealcoating in temperatures above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Sealcoatings that aren’t cured under proper conditions have very little integrity and can be easily torn or dislodged by vehicles driving over them. If you want to avoid this kind of trouble, look into getting a professional rig with hydraulic agitation instead of trying to build your own rig out of totes. They’re available from many manufacturers and you can often find used ones on Pave Market for a fraction of the cost of building your own. They’re also a lot more reliable. If you’re serious about getting into sealcoating I highly suggest you subscribe to Pave Market-you get a free subscription for newbies and there are lots of great tips in their forum there too.
Apply the Sealcoat
Sealcoat adds a layer of protection over the asphalt surface that keeps out moisture, cold temperatures and UV rays. It helps preserve the underlying materials and can even make the pavement look newer and more attractive. It’s not something you should skip to save money or time, but rather an investment in the long-term health of your parking lot or driveway.
The first step is to clean the surface thoroughly. Professional pavement contractors use robust cleaning equipment, including blowers, rotary brooms and sweepers. They also hose out linear cracks with hot rubberized crack filler to ensure the sealcoat will be able to expand and contract with the pavement over time.
If the surface is contaminated with oil or gas, it’s best to remove it entirely before applying the sealcoat. The contaminant will react with the petroleum binder in the asphalt and cause rapid deterioration. Once the oil or gas is removed, the paved area should be cleaned again with a pressure washer to make sure the surface is completely clean.
After the surface is clean, workers can choose to apply the sealcoat by hand or using a spray rig. An experienced operator with a squeegee machine will likely be able to apply the material faster than a spray applicator, but both methods have their advantages. A spray rig can be more efficient and provides better coverage, but it requires specific knowledge to troubleshoot problems like clogged tips or inconsistent application.
Both spray and squeegee applications have their benefits, depending on the conditions of the asphalt. If the surface is very smooth or has been previously sealcoated, a squeegee may be more effective as it forces the material into the voids of the pavement. If the surface is rougher, a two-step process of squeegee and spray application is often used to achieve optimal results.
After the first coat of sealcoat is applied, workers should re-block any access points such as manhole covers and utility access points. They should also set up cones and barricades to keep vehicles and pedestrians away from the work area until it dries completely. Once the sealcoat has cured, traffic can be allowed back on the paved surface.