7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like a lot of homeowners, your rain gutters are not something you often worry about. They need routine gutter cleaning, but besides that, their purpose is very simple.
It’s not until rain gutters aren’t doing what they’re supposed to that you understand how important they are!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most houses in Warren. They fade into the home’s exterior unless the homeowner preferred copper or wood … materials that are designed to stand out! Most home exteriors are made of durable but lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The purpose of rain gutters is to provide a route of minimal resistance for rain and snow to get off your roof quickly. When they are in good shape, your rain gutters will direct runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, protecting your home’s exterior from mold and mildew, the foundation and basement from leaking water, and the gutters themselves from rust.
When they are damaged, it can cause thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your house and property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too simple to fix to be the cause of major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is easy and safe. If you see any of the following issues, it’s a strong clue that your rain gutters have some type of damage.
As soon as you identify a gutter issue, you can decide whether it’s something you feel comfortable repairing or remedying by yourself or if it’s a project you should hire a gutter company to handle.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Sitting water is a good sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the water runoff away from your home the way they should be. Pooling water can lead to mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will leave the areas surrounding your house constantly soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Mold or mildew is a sign of gutter damage, whether you see mold or mildew on the gutters or the sides of your house. Mold and mildew indicate that there is a lot of moisture in that area – a potential problem with the rain gutters could be the cause. Keep in mind that mildew and mold are more likely to grow on the north side of a house anyway, so if that’s where these substances are growing, it might be because that area gets very little direct sunlight on it. This is a time when the advice and expertise of a professional in Warren would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will have to wait until it’s actually raining to look for this type of gutter issue. Hopefully this doesn’t mean you have gutter damage. It might just be that the gutter is clogged with debris and needs to be cleaned. In either case, you want to have it checked right away.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the design of your basement, your leak could be caused by any number of things. The pooling problem we mentioned before could definitely result in a basement leak. Egress windows and cinder block walls can only keep out so much water. That’s why it is so necessary to keep your gutters in good shape!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Gutters pour directly onto the ground most of the time, and landscaping should be designed to work with this water flow to help it submerge into the ground. But, a leaking gutter or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool in areas where it shouldn’t. This rain water can destroy plants by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed building materials like rock or mulch.
Water Marks
Water marks are the first sign that there is a lot of moisture on a surface. Water marks are sometimes left behind even if pooling water has evaporated or dissipated. You usually find water marks under the gutters or behind the downspouts. This is a typically an indication that water is pouring down the outside of the gutters rather than staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The final sign of gutter damage is the simplest to find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked, they have damage. After a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your home to assess any damage to the roof shingles, outer walls, and gutters. These inspections are in addition to any standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a few simple ways AllClean Gutters recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters out at least one time each year. You can extend the time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out regularly. Like with anything else, the better you care for your gutters, the less issues you’ll have with them.
The optimal time to clean gutters is in the spring, but to be cautious, give them a good cleaning in the fall, too. Many homeowners choose to clean their gutters themselves, but there are professional gutter cleaning companies that provide this service so you don’t have to handle the work or the risk.
Inspect your gutters often. Signs of damage can often be visible from the outside of the gutters. A fast inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – will reveal any of the problems we discussed above.
We’d recommend that you complete an exterior home inspection at the end of each season to be sure that your gutters are working the right way.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Fixing an issue before it becomes too bad can save you time and money. A small crack, for example, can be sealed, or the section of gutter with the crack can easily be replaced very affordably.
However, if you let the problem go on too long, you could end up making repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.