Copper gutters make a beautiful, eye-catching accent for homes of a certain architectural style. Their unique color and sheen give them a much more sophisticated appearance than is usually seen on the average home. Copper gutters are a significant investment and require a corresponding amount of attention and maintenance to keep them looking their best.
Whether you install copper half-round or Barbie-style gutters on your home, the following tips apply to both types:
- Never touch copper unless you’re wearing gloves. There are oils, salts and acids on the surface of skin that can interact with and damage unprotected copper, leaving behind unsightly smears and fingerprints everywhere you touch. Thus, any time you work with copper gutters, be sure to wear work gloves that are specifically designed to handle copper. These gloves offer a tight grip and will protect the delicate surface of copper gutters from smudges and smears.
- Buy a good metal polish. You may have noticed on copper edifices around your community that copper forms a green patina over time when exposed to certain environmental conditions. While some homeowners like this patina, others prefer the shine of newly installed copper gutters and want to maintain this look for the life of their gutters. To keep copper gutters shining bright, all you need to do is apply a good copper polish. This will safely remove tarnish, fingerprints, hard water spots and any other marks on the surface of copper gutters.
- Stick with copper for all your accessories. If you try to use materials other than copper for downspouts or extensions when upgrading or lengthening your gutters, you’ll end up with a mish-mash of materials that looks disjointed and unattractive. If you want copper gutters, you must commit to using only copper for any accessories you add at a later date.
Taking care of copper gutters isn’t hard or complicated and, if you make maintaining your investment a priority, the time and effort you put into it will pay off in the end. Copper gutters have an incredibly long service life. They don’t rust nor do they need to be painted, which means they can easily last 100 years in any climate. Combine this with their aesthetic beauty and you can’t go wrong investing in a copper gutter system.
Enlist the Help of Professionals
If your gutter installer has recently replaced your old, worn-out gutters with beautiful new copper gutters, you may want to call Gutter Helmet, one of the best gutter guard companies around, to find out if our gutter protection systems will work on your new gutters. Give us a call today at (800) 824-3772 or submit our online contact form.
