Gutter Cleaning: Don’t Put Me Up on the Roof Anymore

122405691That is not the title of a country western song. These are the words of my daughter who used to be my gutter cleaner.  But allow me to start at the beginning of the story. I live in a neighborhood with lots of trees…BIG Sycamore trees. Never plant a Sycamore tree.  They are dirty trees that drop their huge leaves constantly. Because of this, my gutters needed cleaning every 2 weeks, I am NOT exaggerating! Cleaning gutters involves climbing a ladder and I don’t do ladders.  However, my daughter has no fear of heights and actually likes climbing up on the roof.  Together we would drag out the ladder, she would climb up on the roof and I would help her navigate the garden hose. She would be up on the rooftop, waving hello to our neighbors. I would have both my feet firmly planted on the ground. But I was a very nervous mom watching from below. However, a few years ago I lost my gutter girl; she got married and moved on to clean out her own gutters. I had no choice but to pay to have my gutters cleaned. This was going to get very expensive because of my constantly shedding tree. At that time, I decided to do some research on leaf protection products for my gutters. I found out that several of Alloy’s employees have the strainer style of leaf protection on their own gutters and they highly recommended it. Three years ago I had strainer leaf protection installed on my gutters and they have remained debris free ever since. How do I know this?  My gutter girl wanted to make one last trip up on the roof for old time’s sake. She climbed back up and took a good look at the gutters and yelled down to me, while I watched from the ground, “mom it’s all clear up here.”  But she still laughs about how her “mama used to put her up on the roof” every two weeks. Give Alloy Gutter Company a call and stop the never ending job of gutter cleaning. It’s one of the best home improvement projects you can do. The money spent on leaf protection has already paid for itself after only 3 years!

Are Dirty Gutters Bugging You?

dirty gutters

Few events in life are more exciting than the purchase of your first home. It’s so much fun to dream about all the improvements you’ll be making to create your own special place. Picking out pretty flowers and other landscaping upgrades are usually placed at the top of the new homeowner’s priority list.  However, once they have the keys in hand, most homeowners learn that there are some maintenance issues that must be given immediate attention.

It was a beautiful summer evening and we were looking forward to some relaxation time out on the new patio. What a treat after spending the day cutting grass and weeding the flower beds. Lawn furniture was arranged and cool drinks were carried outside. The first minute or two was peaceful and then I felt the first bite.  Within the next couple of minutes we were swarmed by mosquitoes! This was certainly not the backyard retreat I had envisioned.

As we ran for shelter I wondered where all the pests were coming from. This issue had to be dealt with immediately.  The next morning we checked the gutters and they were full of debris and standing water. The perfect environment for mosquito breeding! However, the pests were quickly flushed away by cleaning out those dirty gutters. And so this story has the happy ending of two new homeowners with clean gutters, no mosquitoes and relaxing nights on their new patio!

Don’t let dirty gutters ruin your spring and summer nights. Be sure to put gutter cleaning at the top of your to-do list. A quick call to Alloy Gutter Company is all it takes to get those gutters cleaned. Don’t experience the aggravation of being bugged by your gutters!

Prepare Your House For The Holidays – From The Outside In!

Now is the time of year that everyone is thinking about upcoming festivities and decorating for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other various winter holidays. It is also the time of year that homeowners should be buttoning up winter projects and preparing their homes for the long, cold, snowy, winter months (especially in a state like Michigan!) One thing that you should be sure to do is clean out your gutters. You can do this yourself or hire a professional, like Alloy Gutter Company, to do the work for you. Gutter cleaning is important because leaves and debris become heavier and heavier as they soak up water and eventually turn to ice. This can cause your gutters to pull away from your home, which is a whole new problem. So be sure to get your gutters cleaned while there is still time! Now is also a good time to install leaf protection on your gutters. All three styles of leaf protection that we offer can be installed on new or existing gutter systems. When we install leaf protection, we also take the time to clean out your gutters and downspouts. Leaf protection is the gift that keeps on giving – making your future seamless gutter maintenance much more manageable! Let your mind be at ease this winter knowing that you took the proper precautions in caring for your greatest investment – your home!

Leaf Protection Confessions

I’ll be honest.  I used to be one of the biggest critics of leaf protection systems.  I thought that they were over-priced, ineffective, ugly, and completely superfluous. Until I bought my own home and cleaning the gutters became my responsibility. I live in a small home; however it’s surrounded by trees.  As pine needles, helicopters, leaves, walnuts, birds’ nests, tennis balls and all sorts of other interesting accessories collected in my gutters, it didn’t take long before they were full of water and overflowing with rancid, brown-colored ooze. So my Saturday would look a little something like this:  Haul the ladder out, strategically and carefully wrestle it around trees, shrubs, electrical meters, decks, and walkways,  begin removing a copious amount of black smelly gutter muck from the gutters and downspouts, and running a garden hose up the ladder to spray out as much of the debris as possible.  (By this time an audience of half a dozen or so neighborhood kids would be standing beneath my ladder, watching with particular interest).  By the end of the process, I’ve been dive bombed by angry, overly protective mother birds, nearly fallen off the ladder, and covered myself from head to toe in gutter muck.  (I suppose it is entertaining for the kids).  Now every time I reach for the ladder, I hear a neighbor kid yell, “HEY EVERYBODY, HE’S GETTING THE LADDER OUT!” It gets worse.  This is a process that requires constant attention throughout the year. To ensure that your gutters are draining properly, they need to be cleaned out on a consistent basis.  It doesn’t take but a handful of leaves (or 1 rogue tennis ball) to clog your downspout outlet.  One clogged outlet could result in a basement full of water or washed out landscaping. Turns out that leaf protection is quite functional and cost effective.  We offer a wide range of leaf protection products, all of them effective, affordable, and zero maintenance products. 6935265