7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you are like many homeowners, your rain gutters aren’t something you often think about. They need biannual gutter cleaning, but besides that, their functionality is very simple.
It’s not until your rain gutters aren’t doing what they’re supposed to that you understand just how important they are for your home!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go virtually unnoticed on most homes in Kentwood. They blend into the home’s exterior unless the homeowner has opted for copper or wood … building materials that are designed to stand out! Most home exteriors are crafted from durable but lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The purpose of rain gutters is to provide a route of minimal resistance for rain to get off your roof as fast as possible. When they are in good shape, your rain gutters will direct runoff away from the home’s foundation and landscaping, will protect your home’s exterior from mildew and mold, the foundation and basement from leaking water, and the rain gutters themselves from wear and rust.
When gutters 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 easy to repair to be the reason for major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is easy and safe. If you identify any of the following signs, it’s a good indication that your gutters have some type of damage.
Once you notice a possible gutter issue, you can decide if it’s something you are comfortable fixing or remedying on your own or if it’s a project you should trust a gutter service for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Standing water near your home is a good sign that your gutters or downspouts are not routing the water runoff away from your house the way they should be. Standing water can result in mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas surrounding your house consistently soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a bad sign, whether you see mold or mildew on the gutters or the exterior of your house. Mold and mildew indicate that there is excessive moisture in that area – a potential issue with the rain gutters could be to blame. Remember that mildew and mold are likely to grow on the north side of a house anyway, so if that’s where these substances are growing, it may just be because that area doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight. This is a scenario when the advice and expertise of a professional in Kentwood would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You’ll have to wait until it’s actually raining to find this gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean your gutters are damaged. It could just be that the gutter is clogged with debris and should be cleaned out. In either case, you want to have it looked at ASAP.
Basement Leaks
Based on the construction of your basement, the leaking might be caused by any number of things. The standing water issue we discussed before could definitely lead to a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls will 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 in most cases, and landscaping should be designed to work with this water flow to help it submerge into the ground. But, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool where it isn’t supposed to. This pooling water can kill plants either by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed building materials like rock or mulch.
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 see water marks beneath the rain gutters or behind the downspouts. This is a typically a sign that rain 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 by far the simplest to find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked, they have damage. After a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your house to assess any possible damage to the roof shingles, exterior, and gutters. These inspections are in addition to your standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are some simple tips Good Clean Gutters recommends to help prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least one time a year. You can extend the amount of time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out regularly. As with anything else, the better you care for your gutters, the fewer issues you’ll have with them.
The best time to clean out gutters is in the spring, but to be cautious, give them a good cleaning in the fall, too. Most homeowners clean their gutters on their own, but there are local gutter cleaning companies that offer this service so you don’t have to deal with the mess or the risk.
Check your gutters often. Signs of damage can be visible from the outside of the gutters. A fast inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the issues we mentioned above.
We’d suggest that you complete an exterior home inspection after each season to be sure 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 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 issue go on for too long, you might end up making repairs in your basement, replacing vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.