A lot of homeowners take their guttering systems for granted. Don't do that folks! They play an integral part in protecting your home from water damage. They are basically designed to take all the rain that hits the roof. Collect it into the guttering system. Direct it to the downspout and then down and away from the foundation and slab of the home. That's all great - if it's free and clear and running properly.

Now gutters are great at accumulating water, but they also accumulate leaves and twigs - especially a house like this with big, tall trees all around it. The leaves are going to fall down, wash right down off the roof and collect in the gutters. And, when it gets too full, the water will run right over the top of the gutter and down up against your house and cause some water damage. Now once a year, you need to jump up here. Get a good ladder and go ahead and reach in here. Put a glove on and pull out all the big leaves and twigs and get all of the big stuff out. Then grab your garden hose. Go ahead and rinse it down all the way to the downspout and you'll be ready to go.

A lot of you may have a home with a steep roof or maybe even a two-story house and it's unsafe to get up there once a year. You opt to put these screens over the gutters - and that really isn't a good idea, folks. These screens will actually stick and hold the leaves and the twigs and they'll clog up even faster. A better way would be to install a Gutter Helmet. This system actually goes right over your existing gutter, covering the entire system. The leaves and twigs go right over the top, yet the water funnels back in, down into the gutter and down the downspout.
Don says the internet is a great source to find any of the many gutter products on the market today that prevent leaves and other material from clogging gutters. Just plug in "gutter cleaning" to your favorite search engine and look at all the possibilities.