7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you are like a lot of homeowners, your rain gutters are not something you really think about. They need biannual gutter cleaning, but besides that, their functionality is incredibly simple.
It’s not until your rain gutters aren’t doing their job that you realize how important they are for your home!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most homes in Pittsfield. They fade into the exterior unless the homeowner has opted for copper or wood … building materials that are definitely meant to stand out! Most home exteriors are crafted from durable but lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The point of rain gutters is to create a route of least resistance for rain and snow to get off your roof quickly. When they are in good condition, your rain gutters will direct runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, will protect your home’s exterior from mold and mildew, the concrete and pavement and basement from leaks, and the gutters themselves from rust.
When they are damaged, it can lead to thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your home and surrounding property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too simple to fix to be the reason for major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is simple and safe. If you identify any of the following issues, it’s a pretty good indication that your rain gutters have some type of damage.
As soon as you find 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 service for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Pooling water near your home is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not sending the water runoff away from your house the way they are supposed to. Pooling water can lead to mold, weakening of your foundation, and provides the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will leave the areas surrounding your house constantly wet and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Mold or mildew is a bad sign, whether you see mold or mildew on the rain gutters or on the sides of your home. Mold and mildew indicate that there is too much moisture in that area – a possible problem with the gutters could be the cause. Remember that mold and mildew are more likely to grow on the north side of a house anyway, so if that’s where these substances are appearing, it might just be because that area doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight. This is a scenario when the advice and knowledge of a professional in Pittsfield would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will have to wait until it’s raining to notice this gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean your gutters are damaged. It might just be that the gutter is full of debris and needs to be cleaned out. Either way, you want to have it checked right away.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the construction of your home’s basement, your leak might be due to any number of things. The pooling problem we discussed earlier could definitely result in a basement leak. Egress windows and cinder block walls can only block out so much water. That’s why it is so necessary to keep your gutters in working order!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Gutters pour directly onto the ground most of the time, and landscaping should be laid out to work with this flow of water to help it submerge into the ground. But, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool in areas where it shouldn’t. This water can destroy plants by force or by overwatering. It will also displace flower bed building 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 sometimes left behind even if standing water has evaporated or dissipated into the ground. You will usually see water marks right beneath the rain gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a typically an indication that water is streaming down the outside of the gutters and not staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The last sign of gutter damage is by far the easiest to find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked in the middle, they have damage. Following a storm, it’s a smart idea to walk around your house to assess any possible 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 Superior Gutter Cleaning recommends to help prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least once a year. You can extend the time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out regularly. As with anything else, the better you maintain your rain gutters, the less issues you’ll have with them.
The recommended time to clean out gutters is during the spring, but to be cautious, give them a cleaning in the fall, too. Many homeowners clean their gutters on their own, but there are professional gutter cleaning companies that provide this service so you don’t have to deal with the work or the risk.
Check your gutters often. Signs of damage can be visible from the outside of the gutters. Just a fast inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the issues we discussed above.
We’d recommend that you do an exterior home inspection at the end of each season to confirm that your gutters are working properly.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Fixing a problem 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 be replaced very affordably.
However, if you let the issue go on too long, you might end up making repairs in your basement, replacing vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.