Every year around this time the leaves change color then fall from the trees and we see rakes and hear leaf blowers all around town. Removing the leaves from eye sight is something we take for granted. What we might sometimes forget is clearing the leaves from the roof gutters and basement window wells.
Why Should I Get My Gutters Cleaned?
The roof gutters are intended to collect the large quantity of water that cascades down the roof and direct it to a discharge location. This cannot occur when the gutters are filled with leaves. Hiring a professional to do this job is usually the safest way of cleaning the gutters of the leaves that have collected.
How Do the Fall Leaves Cause My Basement to Flood?
A less obvious but just as important area that leaves accumulate is in the basement windows. In fact sometimes the leaves are blown directly into them when cleaning behind shrubs. This will inhibit the ability for the wells to drain as they should which will result in the well becoming a fishbowl. Once this happens water will most certainly breach the basement window and flood the basement. Remember to reach in to the wells and remove all of the leaves before this can occur.
