How Often Should You Clean Your Eavestroughs in Ontario?

Most people don't think about their eavestroughs until water comes sheeting over the edge in a downpour. By then the trough has usually been full for a while.

So how often should you clean eavestroughs in Ontario? For most houses it's twice a year, once in late spring and once in late fall. Some need more. Here's how to tell which group your house is in.

How Often to Clean Eavestroughs in Ontario

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) puts eavestroughs on its home maintenance schedule twice. In the fall, clear the leaves out of the troughs and off the roof and test the downspouts. In the spring, check for loose joints and loose attachment, clear any blockages and make sure the water drains away from the foundation.

That matches what we recommend: one cleaning in late spring, after the seeds have come down, and another in late fall once most of the leaves are off the trees. If you only manage one, make it the fall cleaning. You don't want wet, packed leaves sitting at the roof edge when everything starts to freeze.

Fall timing takes a bit of judgement. Go too early and the trees can fill the troughs right back up. Leave it too late and you're on a ladder in the cold, picking at leaves that have frozen in place.

When Twice a Year Isn't Enough

Two cleanings is a starting point. A few things push a house toward more:

• Large trees hanging over the roof. If branches reach past your eaves, add a mid-summer check.
• Several different trees close to the house, since each one drops its seeds, flowers or leaves at a different time
• Roof valleys that funnel water and debris into one corner of the trough
• Troughs that overflowed in the last heavy rain even though they were cleaned recently. That usually points to a blocked downspout or a section that's lost its slope.

Signs Your Eavestroughs Need Cleaning

You can usually tell from the ground. Walk around the house during a good rain, or right after one, and look for these:

• Water spilling over the front edge instead of running down the downspout
• A downspout that dribbles or stays dry while it's pouring
• Grass or seedlings growing out of the trough. If something has taken root up there, there's a layer of muck for it to grow in.
• Sections that sag or have pulled away from the fascia
• Dirty streaks down the siding under the eaves
• Puddles or washed-out soil along the foundation

What Blocked Eavestroughs Do to a House

When a trough can't drain, the water finds another way down, usually right beside your foundation. Utilities Kingston, the municipal utility in Kingston, warns that plugged eaves and downspouts spill water close to the foundation, and that blockages let water freeze and expand, which can split the seams on a downspout.

Then there's winter. Full eavestroughs aren't the root cause of ice dams. The University of Minnesota Extension says those come mainly from heat leaking out of the house and warming the upper roof, so snow melts up high and refreezes at the cold edge. A trough packed with wet leaves doesn't help, though. Consumer Reports notes that water freezing in gutters can force snow and ice up into the shingles.

While you're out there, check where each downspout empties. Utilities Kingston recommends letting the water out at least two metres from the foundation, onto lawn or garden where it can soak in. Keep it on your own property, and don't point it across a sidewalk or walkway, which Kingston flags as a slip hazard.

Cleaning Them Yourself? Mind the Ladder

Lots of people clean the troughs on a bungalow themselves. Two storeys is another matter. If you're going up, stick to these:

• Use the 4-to-1 rule from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS): for every 4 feet of height, set the base 1 foot out from the wall.
• Extend the ladder at least 1 metre (3 feet) above the edge you're working at, and stand it on firm, level ground.
• Look up before you raise it. Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority says to stay at least 3 metres back from overhead power lines and to carry ladders sideways, never upright.
• Scoop the debris out by hand, then run a hose down each downspout to make sure it flows.
• Don't stretch for one more section. Climb down and move the ladder.

Booking a Cleaning

CMHC's own advice is that if you're not comfortable with a maintenance job, or don't have the equipment (a ladder, for example), you can hire a qualified handyperson. Our eavestrough cleaning covers hand-clearing the troughs, flushing every downspout and bagging the debris. We also check for sagging sections, loose brackets and leaky joints, and we do minor repairs like those.

Gutter cleaning on a standard single-storey home usually costs $125 to $200. Two-storey homes run $175 to $300, depending on the size of the roof and how many downspouts there are. We can also book you in for spring and fall visits.

Call (289) 928-5689 for a free written estimate. We work across Durham Region, Kawartha Lakes and Northumberland County.