7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like many people, your rain gutters aren’t something you often worry about. They need routine gutter cleaning, but otherwise, their purpose is very 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 virtually unnoticed on most homes in Coon Rapids. They fade into the exterior unless the homeowner chose copper or wood … materials that are definitely meant to stand out! Most are made of durable yet lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The point 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 concrete and pavement and basement from leaks, 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 simple to repair 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 clue that your gutters have some type of damage.
As soon as you notice a possible gutter problem, you can decide if it’s something you feel comfortable fixing or remedying on your own or if it’s something you should hire a gutter specialist to handle.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Sitting 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 designed to. Standing water can result in mold, weakening of your foundation, and provides the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas surrounding your home constantly wet and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a sign of gutter damage, whether you see mold or mildew on the gutters or on the sides of your home. Mold and mildew indicate there is a lot of moisture in that area – a possible issue with the 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 appearing, it might just be because that area doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight on it. This is a scenario when the advice and knowledge of a gutter specialist in Coon Rapids would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You’ll have to wait until it’s raining to discover this gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean you have gutter damage. It could just be that the gutter is full of debris and needs to be cleaned. Either way, you need to have it checked ASAP.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the construction of your basement, your leak could be due to any number of things. The pooling problem we mentioned before could definitely result in a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls can only keep 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 designed to work with this flow of water to help it disperse into the ground. But, a leaking gutter or clogged gutter will allow rainfall to overflow or pool where it isn’t supposed to. This rain water can kill plants by force or by overwatering. It might also displace flower bed materials like rock or mulch.
Water Marks
Water marks are a visible sign that there is excessive moisture on a surface. Water marks are sometimes left behind even if standing water has evaporated or dissipated into the ground. You will usually find water marks beneath the rain gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a usually an indication that rain water is running down the outside of the gutters and not 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 in the middle, they definitely have damage. After a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your house to assess any possible damage to the roof, exterior, and rain gutters. These inspections are in addition to any standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a few simple ways Swift Gutter Cleaning recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters out at least once a year. You can lengthen the amount of time between gutter repairs by having them cleaned out. Like with anything else, the better you maintain your rain gutters, the less problems you’ll have with them.
The recommended 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 many professional gutter cleaning companies that offer 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 quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – will reveal any of the signs we wrote about above.
We’d suggest that you do an exterior home inspection following each season to be sure that your gutters are working properly.
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 and quickly.
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.