As unpleasant as it can be, cleaning your gutters is a very necessary household chore. While it can be messy and a little dangerous climbing around on a ladder, this task should be completed once or twice a year to prevent serious problems. Your gutters are meant to carry rainwater that runs off your roof to downspouts and then safely away from your home. If that water overflows the gutters or misses them completely it can cause severe damage to your home.

Most people do not even notice gutters on a home until there is a problem. If you do not clean them out then the gutter will become very heavy with debris. As they become heavier and heavier the fasteners that hold the gutter to your house will give way and the gutter will detach. This can be an unpleasant eyesore. The esthetics of your gutter problems are the least of your worries. In this scenario, rainwater will completely miss the gutter system.

Any water running off your roof, could find its way into your home where the roof connects with the walls. This water and moisture can cause water damage throughout your home in addition to providing the perfect environment for mold to grow. A worst case scenario would be that your attic becomes water logged and then collapses into your home.

Before your gutters become so heavy that they separate from your home, they can still be clogged enough to cause problems. If water cannot find its way to a downspout then the gutter could overflow and send water down the side of the house to the soil and concrete next to your house. This concrete and soil are meant to keep moisture away from your foundation. If water makes its way to the foundation, it could have drastic consequences.

Inevitably, your foundation will get some cracks in it. If water is introduced to a crack of any size, that can be very bad. Eventually, water will erode your foundation away. With heavy downpours, water can work its way in and out of the crack in your foundation, each time taking small amounts of your foundation with it. A small crack can get larger over time.

Another problem is that rainwater can work its way into your foundation through cracks and as the weather cools, it could freeze. Water is one of the few substances that get larger in volume when it freezes. This could cause further cracks in your foundation.

As cracks grow larger, they can work there way entirely through the foundation and carry water into your basement. Water damage in your basement can lead to mold and mildew problems. Mold and mildew can cause health problems and can ultimately lead to needing to replace walls and floors.

As bad as the erosion of your foundation sounds, there is another problem of even greater concern. If water starts to work its way under your foundation then it will erode the soil there in a similar manner to the concrete of your foundation. Soil is much easier to erode, so the tunnels and holes form much faster. If these holes get large enough a portion of your home or even your entire house could collapse into a crater. Often, this type of damage is so bad that a house becomes unlivable.

Obviously, it is very important to keep your gutters clean. This unpleasant chore should be done twice a year in order to avoid problems like the ones described above.