Many have romanticized the image of ivy-covered houses, but it turns out that removing the vines may be even more gratifying.
In the subreddit r/oddlysatisfying, one Redditor posted a video by UK Lumberjack (@uklumberjack) showing a truck peeling thick sheets of ivy off a red-brick building.
The truck drove forward, pulling a rope connecting the ivy to its hitch and separating a sheet from the wall in one smooth attempt.
"Ohhhh this reminds me of covering my palm with Elmer's glue and letting it dry so I can peel it all off," one Redditor wrote.
The video then shows another ivy sheet being removed from the top down, indicating the vines were probably a troublesome species.
Professional gardener and founder of Gardening Vibe Matt Eddleston detailed to Real Homes' Anna K. Cottrell how English ivy is important to remove because it can compromise the safety of a building's structure by working its way into small crevices in both interior and exterior walls.
English ivy is considered invasive in many countries including the United States. While it isn't invasive in England, as the name implies, it can still bring those cons.
"If you already have a small amount of structural damage, ivy can make it worse," he noted.
If your home doesn't have any weaknesses in the walls, however, the presence of ivy isn't necessarily bad.
Researchers from the Royal Horticultural Society in the U.K. found that the vines can help moderate the temperature of buildings, basically acting as air conditioning in the summer and insulation in the winter, according to Shivali Best of MailOnline.
Gabriel J. Croteau, a Certified Master Gardener at Juliei Salone, told Real Homes that ivy-covered walls can keep a building "15% warmer in the winter and 36% cooler in the summer" — meaning you could save money while reducing emissions of heat-trapping gases that have been linked to rising sea levels and wildfires.
Some commenters on Reddit lamented the loss of the beautiful ivy, but others highlighted why its removal in this situation was so important.
"Anytime we have a bad storm I worry that the trees will blow over in the wind because the ivy has weakened them. Everyone loves the look of [it] but doesn't realize that it can be dangerous," one person wrote.
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