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Leaves in the Gutters? Clean ‘Em Up!

Mesa Rain Gutter Full of Leaves Being Cleaned OutAs autumn blows in and the leaves begin to fall, this can at times culminate in gutters congested with dead leaves. To get your Mesa rental property to stay in appealing status every year, it is paramount to make cleaning gutters an established part of your property maintenance routine. But who should be responsible to clean them out? Despite requiring your tenant to carry out the work would seem like a reasonable request, there are important reasons why you should not have them perform regular gutter maintenance. Even if they act as if they know what they are administering, asking a tenant to clean your rental property’s gutters could lead to serious injury or property damage, both of which could result in expensive problems later.

Functioning gutters are an essential part of preventing expensive repairs. Overflowing gutters can cause damage to foundations, roofs, and other structural elements of the property. They can also attract the interest insects and other pests, in addition to other health hazards like mold. When gutters are not cleaned routinely, they can create awful troubles that you might not be able to notice until it’s already too late.

Cleaning gutters is not a difficult task, but it would take a while and recognizing how to accomplish it well.  The right equipment is required, and proper safety procedures should be observed. Most gutters can be cleaned with a ladder, hose or sprayer, and a trowel or plastic scoop. Adopting these tools, you can easily remove large debris from the gutters to keep water flowing in the right direction. It’s paramount to confirm that you move debris away from the downspout and check vertical pieces of the gutter for blockages. Flushing these parts with a hose can be quite effective in most cases. Other people may use a power washer to get the more stubborn dirt out of gutters and downspouts but it must be used with care or you risk damaging the gutters or even the house itself.

This is why asking your tenant to perform gutter maintenance is not a good idea. Your tenant may not be experienced enough as to how to clean a gutter without damaging it, or even without causing damage to the roof, siding, and other areas of the house. Even tenants with noble intentions may accidentally cause damage that will be expensive to repair. Also, if a tenant cleans the gutters but does an abysmal job of it, you may not realize that there is a problem for months or even years. Hoping that the chore has been executed well could cost you months or even years down the road.

One more contributor to consider is your tenant’s health and protection. To reach the gutters, it is often necessary to use a ladder and other equipment notorious for causing accidents and injuries. By one estimate, there are more than 36,000 deaths from falling off ladders in the United States every year. Ladder-related injuries are even higher, with more than 164,000 accidents reported annually. With so much potential trouble, it is not a nice idea to oblige your tenant to scale a ladder in order to undertake property improvement on your leasing home. Should they fall and hurt themselves, you could be sued and found liable to pay their medical and legal expenses.

Cleaning the gutters on your rental property once or twice a year can help make your tenants safe and prevent costly repairs. Whether you implement it yourself or recruit competent personnel to execute it for you, the duration and expenses incurred are small compared to the consequences for not ensuring your gutters are properly maintained. At Real Property Management East Valley, we incorporate regular gutter maintenance with our other quality property maintenance services in Mesa. With our collaboration, you will have additional time to concentrate on the more crucial attributes of your real estate investing business. For more information, contact us or call us at 480-981-7000 today.

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