7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you are like most people, your rain gutters aren’t something you really worry about. They need routine 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 realize just how important they are!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most houses in Canton. They blend into the exterior unless the homeowner decided on copper or wood … building materials that are definitely designed to stand out! Most are made of durable but lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The purpose of gutters is to provide a route of minimal resistance for rain to get off your roof as fast as possible. When they’re in good shape, your gutters will direct runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, protecting 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 house and surrounding property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too simple to fix to be the cause of major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is simple and safe. If you see any of the following signs, it’s a strong clue that your rain gutters have some kind of damage.
As soon as you notice a possible gutter issue, you can decide whether it’s something you feel comfortable fixing or remedying by yourself or if it’s something you should hire a gutter service for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Pooling water near your home is a good sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the rain runoff away from your house the way they are supposed to. Standing water can result in mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. And, it will make the areas surrounding your home perpetually soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a bad sign, whether you see mold or mildew on the gutters or on the exterior of your house. Mold and mildew indicate that there is excessive moisture in that area – a possible problem with the rain gutters could be to blame. Keep in mind that mildew and mold are more likely to appear on the north side of a house anyway, so if that’s where these substances are appearing, it might just be because that area gets very little direct sunlight on it. This is a time where the advice and knowledge of a gutter specialist in Canton would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will need to wait until it’s raining to notice this gutter issue. Hopefully this doesn’t mean you have gutter damage. It might just be that the gutter is clogged with debris and should be cleaned. In either case, you need to have it checked ASAP.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the construction of your home’s basement, your leak could be due to any number of things. The standing water problem we discussed earlier could definitely lead to a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls will only block out so much water. That’s why it is important to keep your gutters in good condition!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Gutters empty directly onto the ground in most cases, and landscaping should be laid out to work with this water flow to help it disperse into the ground. But, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool where it shouldn’t. This rain water can destroy plants by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed building materials like mulch or rock.
Water Marks
Water marks are a visible sign that there is too much moisture on a surface. Water marks are left behind even if standing water has evaporated or dissipated. You usually find water marks right under the gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a usually a sign that rain water is pouring 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 in the middle, they obviously have damage. Following a storm, it’s a smart idea to walk around your home to assess any possible damage to the roof shingles, outer walls, and rain gutters. These inspections are in addition to any routine home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a couple of easy tips Canton Gutters, Inc. recommends to help prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters out at least once a year. You can lengthen the amount of time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out regularly. Like with anything else, the better you care for your gutters, the fewer issues you’ll have with them.
The recommended time to clean out gutters is in the spring, but to be extra cautious, give them a cleaning in the fall, too. Most homeowners choose to clean their gutters on their own, but there are local gutter cleaning companies that provide this service so you don’t have to handle 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 signs we mentioned above.
We’d recommend that you complete an exterior home inspection following each season to ensure that your gutters are functioning the right way.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Fixing 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 be replaced very affordably.
But, if you let the problem go on for too long, you could end up making repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire section of landscaping.