Like with any part of your home, guttering needs adequate care and attention to keep it functioning as it should. The type of maintenance you need to carry out, however, varies depending on the material the guttering is made from.
One of the most frequent problems that can occur with guttering is if it becomes blocked. Debris can gather and the result is that rainwater will leak over the sides rather than draining away, which can result in serious damage to the building. Guttering should therefore regularly be checked for blockages. To avoid this, guards can be installed to stop debris getting into the gutter, but these can also become blocked – although they are substantially easier to unblock – and need to be cleaned regularly too.
If your guttering is made from cast iron (which traditionally is one of the most popular materials) you need to take the extra precaution of rust proofing it. Cast iron is a very strong material and has a long lifespan, but it can easily rust if not properly maintained. When it occurs, rust needs to be tackled immediately, and often entire sections of the guttering need to be replaced. Cast iron is an expensive material, so having to do this is far from ideal.
Plastic guttering is becoming more and more popular these days, with one of the major reasons being that it is a low maintenance material. Plastic will neither rust nor rot, and it is also strong enough to be able to handle most severe weather. Sometimes UV light can fade the colour, but UV-resistant plastic guttering is becoming more and more widely available and can be found in many different colours.
At Bliby Plastics, we provide high quality, strong and durable plastic guttering that will go well on any building.