7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like most people, your rain gutters aren’t something you really worry about. They need biannual gutter cleaning, but otherwise, their purpose is incredibly simple.
It’s not until gutters aren’t doing their job that you realize how important they are!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most homes in Fairfield. They blend into the home’s 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 create a path of minimal resistance for rain to get off your roof quickly. When they’re in good shape, your 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 gutters are damaged, it can cause thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your home and surrounding property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too simple to repair to be the reason for major home repairs! Keeping an eye on your gutters is simple and safe. If you notice any of the following issues, it’s a good indication that your rain gutters have some type of damage.
Once you identify a possible gutter problem, you can decide whether it’s something you are comfortable repairing or remedying by yourself or if it’s something you should hire a gutter service for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Sitting water near your home is a good sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the water runoff away from your home the way they should be. Standing water can cause mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas around 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 the sides of your house. Mold and mildew indicate there is too much moisture around that area – a potential issue with the rain gutters could be the cause. 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 may be because that area doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight on it. This is a situation when the advice and knowledge of a gutter specialist in Fairfield would be a great help.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You’ll have to wait until it’s actually raining to look for this gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean that your gutters are damaged. It might just be that the gutter is clogged with debris and should be cleaned out. In either case, you want to have it checked ASAP.
Basement Leaks
Based on the design of your home’s basement, your leak might be caused by any number of things. The standing water issue we mentioned before could definitely lead to a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls can only keep out so much water. That’s why it is so important to keep your gutters in good shape!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Rain gutters pour directly onto the ground most of the time, and landscaping should be designed to work with this water flow to help it disperse into the ground. But, a leaking gutter or clogged gutter will allow rainfall to overflow or pool where it shouldn’t. This standing rain water can destroy plants either 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 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 right beneath the gutters or behind the downspouts. This is a usually a sign 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 simplest to spot. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked in the middle, they definitely have damage. After a storm, it’s a smart idea to walk around your house to assess any possible damage to the roof, exterior, and gutters. These inspections are in addition to your standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a few easy tips Fairfield Gutter Specialists recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters out at least once each year. You can lengthen the amount of time between gutter repairs by having them cleaned out regularly. Like with anything else, the better you maintain your rain gutters, the fewer issues you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean out gutters is in the spring, but to be extra cautious, give them a good cleaning in the fall, too. Most 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 gutter damage can be visible from the outside of the gutters. Just a quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the signs we discussed above.
We’d suggest that you complete an exterior home inspection at the end of each season to ensure 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 time and money. A small crack, for example, can be sealed, or the section of gutter with the crack can be replaced very affordably and quickly.
However, if you let the problem go on for too long, you might end up making repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire section of landscaping.