Gutter cleaning before hurricane season: a Broward homeowner's checklist

Hurricane season runs June through November, and the rain that comes with it does not arrive politely. A single afternoon band can drop two inches an hour. A gutter packed with oak leaves and palm debris cannot move that water, so it goes over the edge instead, straight down your wall and into the soffit and the foundation.

Clearing gutters is the cheapest storm prep there is. Here is what to check and when.

What a clogged gutter actually costs

Water that overflows the gutter lands at the base of your wall and sits there. In Florida that means stained stucco, rotted fascia and soffit, and eventually termites, which are drawn to consistently damp wood. Water pooling at the foundation is a slower and more expensive problem again. A full gutter also weighs a great deal when saturated, and the brackets are not designed for it, which is why you see gutters pulling away from the fascia all over Broward after a wet summer.

None of these show up during the storm. They show up months later, as a stain, a soft spot, or an insurance claim your policy may treat as deferred maintenance rather than storm damage.

When to clear them

Twice a year for most South Florida homes: once in late spring before the rains start, and once in the fall once they have finished. If you have oak, mango, ficus or palm anywhere near the roofline, make it three. Palms are the worst offenders because the fronds and seed pods do not break down, they just pack into the downspout opening and sit there like a plug.

The eight-point pre-season check

One: gutters cleared by hand along every run, not just blown at from the ground. Two: every downspout flushed until water runs freely out the bottom. Three: downspout outlets checked for the packed sludge that sits at the elbow. Four: brackets and hangers checked for looseness or rust. Five: seams and end caps checked for drips. Six: the fascia behind the gutter checked for soft or discolored wood. Seven: water tested to confirm it actually flows toward the downspout rather than pooling. Eight: downspout discharge checked so it directs water away from the foundation, not into a flower bed against the wall.

We do all eight on every visit and send you photos, because you cannot see any of it from the ground.

Why blowing them out from the ground is not the same job

The cheap version of this service is a leaf blower on a pole, run from the driveway. It clears the dry leaves on top and leaves the wet, compacted layer at the bottom of every run, which is precisely the material that blocks a downspout. It also cannot tell you that a bracket is loose or that the fascia has gone soft, because nobody is up there looking.

What about gutter guards

They help with big leaves and do nothing about the fine grit, shingle granules and pollen that actually silt up a gutter down here. Guards stretch the interval, they do not end it. If you have them, plan on a clearing once a year instead of twice.

Book it before May

Everyone calls the first week it rains hard, and that is the week nobody has slots. Gutter cleaning is quoted per linear foot and the quote is free. Text your address to 754-226-0066 and we will get you a number the same day, usually without needing to come out.

Serving Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Weston, Sunrise, Davie, Miramar, Coral Gables and the rest of Broward and Miami-Dade.