7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like a lot of people, your gutters are not something you really think about. They need regular gutter cleaning, but besides that, their functionality 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 for your home!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go virtually unnoticed on most homes in Kalamazoo. They blend into the home’s exterior unless the homeowner chose copper or wood … building materials that are definitely designed to stand out! Most are crafted from durable yet lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The point of rain gutters is to provide a route of least resistance for rain and snow to get off your roof. When they are in good shape, your rain gutters will route runoff away from the home’s 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 gutters are damaged, it can cause thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your house and surrounding property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too easy to fix to be the reason for major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is simple and safe. If you identify any of the following signs, it’s a good indication that your gutters have some kind of damage.
As soon as you notice a gutter problem, you can decide whether it’s something you feel comfortable repairing or remedying by yourself or if it’s a project you’d rather hire a gutter repairman to handle.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Standing water is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the rain runoff away from your home the way they should be. Standing water can lead to mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas surrounding your home constantly soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a sign of gutter damage, whether you see mold or mildew on the rain gutters or on the sides of your house. Mold and mildew mean there is excessive moisture in that area – a potential problem with the rain gutters could be the cause. Keep in mind 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 may be because that area gets very little direct sunlight on it. This is a scenario when the advice and expertise of a professional in Kalamazoo would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will have to wait until it’s actually raining to look for this gutter issue. Hopefully this doesn’t mean that your gutters are damaged. It could just be that the gutter is full of debris and should be cleaned. Either way, you want to have it looked at right away.
Basement Leaks
Based on the design of your basement, your leak might be due to any number of things. The standing water issue we mentioned before could definitely cause a basement leak. Egress windows and cinder block walls can only block out so much water. That’s why it is so important to keep your gutters in good condition!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Rain gutters empty 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. However, a leaking gutter or clogged gutter will allow rainfall to overflow or pool where it isn’t supposed to. This standing water can kill plants by force or by overwatering. It will also displace flower bed building materials like rock or mulch.
Water Marks
Water marks are a visible sign that there is too much moisture on a surface. Water marks are sometimes left behind even if pooling water has evaporated or dissipated. You usually find water marks under the gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a typically an indication that rain water is pouring down the outside of the gutters and not staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The last sign of gutter damage is the easiest 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 damage to the roof, outer walls, and rain gutters. These inspections are in addition to your standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are some easy ways Quick Clean Gutters recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least once a year. You can lengthen the time between gutter repairs by having them cleaned out. As with anything else, the better you care for 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. A lot of 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.
Inspect your gutters often. Signs of damage can often be visible from the outside of the gutters. Just a quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the problems we mentioned above.
We’d recommend that you do an exterior home inspection at the end of each season to be sure that your gutters are working the right way.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Taking care of a problem 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.