7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you are like a lot of homeowners, your gutters aren’t something you really think about. They need regular gutter cleaning, but otherwise, their functionality is very simple.
It’s not until gutters aren’t doing what they’re supposed to that you realize how important they are!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go virtually unnoticed on most roofs in Livonia. They blend into the home’s exterior unless the homeowner has opted for 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 gutters is to create a route of least resistance for rain to get off your roof as fast as possible. When they’re in good condition, your rain gutters will route runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, protecting your home’s exterior from mildew and mold, the foundation 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 property.
ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?
Gutter damage is too easy to repair to be the reason for any major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is easy and safe. If you identify any of the following signs, it’s a good clue that your rain gutters have some kind of damage.
Once you find a possible gutter problem, you can decide if it’s something you feel comfortable repairing or remedying on your own or if it’s something you should call a gutter specialist for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Sitting water is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the water 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. And, it will make the areas surrounding your home perpetually wet and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Mold or mildew is a bad sign, whether you see mold or mildew on the gutters or the sides of your home. Mold and mildew mean that there is too much moisture in that area – a possible problem with the gutters could be to blame. Keep in mind that mold and mildew are likely to grow on the north side of a home anyway, so if that’s where they’re growing, it might be because that area gets very little direct sunlight on it. This is a situation when the advice and expertise of a gutter specialist in Livonia would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will have to wait until it’s raining to discover this type of gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean you have gutter damage. It could just be that the gutter is full of debris and should be cleaned. In either case, you need to have it looked at right away.
Basement Leaks
Based on the construction of your basement, the leaking could be due to any number of things. The pooling issue we mentioned earlier could definitely result in a basement leak. Egress windows and cinder block walls will only block out so much water. That’s why it is so necessary to keep your gutters in good shape!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Rain gutters pour directly onto the ground in most cases, and landscaping should be designed to work with this water flow to help it disperse into the ground. However, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool where it isn’t supposed to. This pooling rain water can destroy plants either by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed 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 left behind even if pooling water has evaporated or dissipated. You usually find water marks under the gutters or behind the downspouts. This is a usually an indication that water is streaming 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 find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked in the middle, they obviously have damage. After a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your home to identify any damage to the roof shingles, exterior, and gutters. These inspections are in addition to any routine home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are some simple tips Livonia Gutters, Inc. recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least one time each year. You can extend the time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out. Like with anything else, the better you maintain your gutters, the less problems you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean 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 many local gutter cleaning companies that provide this service so you don’t have to deal with the mess or the risk.
Inspect your gutters often. Signs of damage can often be visible from the outside of the gutters. A quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – will reveal any of the issues we wrote about above.
We’d recommend that you do an exterior home inspection following each season to ensure that your gutters are functioning 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 be replaced very affordably and quickly.
However, if you let the issue go on too long, you might end up needing repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.