Get up in your gutters and down with protecting your home

Gary Carnivele
Special to FineLife Home
Photos Submitted

A menace lurks overhead. It is a slimy organic mass capable of much destruction. Confront this threat by bringing yourself eye level with the murky form and by fearlessly eradicating it before it continues its damage. This glop isn’t extraterrestrial. It’s the sludge that has been building up in your home’s gutters and it requires immediate attention.
“Gutters should be cleaned at least twice a year,” said George Angell, whose company, ABS Home Pro, does just that. “Some homeowners might want to do it more often if they have foliage that loses leaves or needles more than once a year. This matter is highly acidic and can eat through the galvanized coating of typical gutters and right through the metal,” he explained.
ABS Home Pro charges from $245 up for the cleaning and inspection of gutters and downspouts of the average home. The company is licensed, fully insured and bonded, which Angell said is most important to homeowners who hire anyone to work on their property – especially on ladders and roofs.
In Angell’s opinion, people tend to ignore the muck in their gutters because cleaning them out is such a nasty job. He urged great caution for those do-it-yourselfers who are brave enough to tackle that slimy mess. He said that a sturdy ladder is most important and homeowners should be careful not to place ladders on gutters, because this can cause serious damage to them. He suggested the use of thick rubber gloves to protect hands from sharp objects, such as needles, twigs, gravel and even errant roofing nails.
“Once larger debris has been removed, carefully scrub the inside of the gutter with a stiff-bristled brush and rinse with your garden hose,” said Angell. “Leaf guard systems prolong the life of gutters but can also become clogged and to keep them working properly should be cleaned off on a regular basis.”
Friedman’s and other home improvement stores sell inexpensive strainers and other kinds of guards that home-owners may install themselves to keep leaves and other debris out of their gutters. But Angell finds most of this DIY materials is inferior to the one he uses, which was originally manufactured for use in areas of the country with more extreme weather. ABS Home Pro charges begin at $15 per foot for the installation of this premium aluminum leaf guard system to existing gutters and offers a lifetime warranty.
“Inspecting and testing your home’s gutters is just as important as regular cleaning,” urged Angell, whose company has performed some 7,000 jobs – most of them in Sonoma – in its 28 years. “Test gutters and downspouts with a hose to make sure that water is running easily through them and that there are no leaks. Be careful not to use too much force, because this may damage seams and elbow joints.”
Angell commented that it’s best to address gutter and downspout problems as soon as possible, because when water is not directed away from your house it can pool around foundations and rot siding, erode soil and become a breeding ground for mold and mosquitoes. Older, easily-clogged gutters should be replaced by those that are seamless galvanized steel and up to two inches wider. Prices start at $10 per foot for the gutters and $3 per foot for leaf guards, when installed concurrently. Both carry lifetime warrantees.
“Most people think about replacing their gutters after the first hard rain and this time of year is our busiest,” observed Angell. “It’s smarter to plan replacement work in the spring or summer. Homeowners can save money too, because we start our sales after the first of the year.”
ABS Home Pro offers many home improvement services, including seamless gutter replacement and lifetime gutter maintenance. Angell can be reached at 707.763.0151 or at homecarepro@comcast.net.