7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like a lot of homeowners, your gutters aren’t something you really think about. They need regular gutter cleaning, but otherwise, their purpose is incredibly simple.
It’s not until your gutters aren’t doing what they’re supposed to that you understand just how important they are for your home!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most roofs in Hoover. They fade into the exterior unless the homeowner has opted for copper or wood … materials that are designed to stand out! Most are made of durable yet lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The purpose of rain gutters is to create a route of minimal resistance for rain and snow to get off your roof as fast as possible. When they’re in good shape, your rain gutters will route runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, protecting your home’s exterior from mold and mildew, the concrete and pavement and basement from leaking water, and the gutters themselves from wear and rust.
When they are damaged, it can lead to thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your home and property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too easy to repair to be the reason for major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is simple and safe. If you notice any of the following signs, it’s a strong clue that your rain gutters have some type of damage.
Once you identify a possible gutter problem, you can decide if it’s something you are comfortable fixing or remedying by yourself or if it’s something you should trust a gutter repairman for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Sitting water is a good sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the rain runoff away from your house the way they are designed to. Standing water can cause mold, weakening of your foundation, and provides the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. And, it will make the areas surrounding your house constantly soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a bad sign, whether you see mold or mildew on the rain gutters or the exterior of your house. Mold and mildew mean there is too much moisture in that area – a potential issue with the rain gutters could be the cause. Keep in mind that mildew and mold are likely to appear on the north side of a home anyway, so if that’s where these substances are appearing, it might be because that area doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight on it. This is a time where the advice and knowledge of a professional in Hoover would be a great help.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You’ll need to wait until it’s raining to discover this type of gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean your gutters are damaged. It might just be that the gutter is full of debris and should be cleaned out. Either way, you need to have it looked at right away.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the design of your basement, your leak could be due to any number of things. The pooling issue we discussed earlier could definitely lead to a basement leak. Egress windows and cinder block walls will only block out so much water. That’s why it is necessary to keep your gutters in good shape!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Gutters pour directly onto the groundin most cases, and landscaping should be laid out to work with this water flow to help it disperse into the ground. However, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool where it shouldn’t. This pooling water can kill plants by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed materials like mulch or rock.
Water Marks
Water marks are the first sign that there is too much moisture on a surface. Water marks are left behind even if pooling water has evaporated or dissipated. You will usually find water marks right beneath the rain gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a typically an indication that water is running down the outside of the gutters rather than staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The last sign of gutter damage is the easiest 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 house to identify any possible damage to the roof, exterior, and rain gutters. These inspections are in addition to any routine home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a couple of simple tips Hoover Gutter Service recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters out at least one time a year. You can lengthen the time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out regularly. As with anything else, the better you maintain your gutters, the less issues you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean gutters is during the spring, but to be cautious, give them a cleaning in the fall, too. A lot of homeowners clean their gutters themselves, but there are local gutter cleaning companies that offer this service so you don’t have to deal with the work or the risk.
Inspect your gutters often. Signs of damage can often be visible from the outside of the gutters. A quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the problems we wrote about above.
We’d suggest that you do an exterior home inspection after each season to be sure that your gutters are functioning the right way.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Taking care of an issue before it becomes too bad can save you a lot of 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 and quickly.
However, if you let the issue go on too long, you might end up needing repairs in your basement, replacing vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.