7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like a lot of people, your rain gutters aren’t something you really think about. They need biannual gutter cleaning, but otherwise, their purpose is incredibly simple.
It’s not until 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 unnoticed on most houses in Renton. They blend into the exterior unless the homeowner chose copper or wood … materials that are definitely 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 path of minimal resistance for rain and snow 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 rain 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 cause of any major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is simple and safe. If you notice any of the following issues, it’s a strong clue that your gutters have some type of damage.
As soon as you find a gutter issue, you can decide whether it’s something you feel comfortable repairing or remedying by yourself or if it’s a project you should trust a gutter service to handle.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Pooling water is a good sign that your gutters or downspouts are not routing the rain runoff away from your house the way they are designed to. Pooling water can cause mold, weakening of your foundation, and provides the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas surrounding your home consistently soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Mold or mildew is a sign of gutter damage, whether you see mold or mildew on the gutters or on the exterior of your house. Mold and mildew indicate there is a lot of moisture around that area – a possible problem with the rain gutters could be to blame. Keep in mind that mildew and mold are more 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. This is a time when the advice and knowledge of a professional in Renton would be a great help.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will need to wait until it’s raining to discover this type of gutter issue. Hopefully this doesn’t mean you have gutter damage. It might just be that the gutter is full of debris and needs to be cleaned out. Either way, you want to have it checked ASAP.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the design of your home’s basement, your leak could be caused by any number of things. The pooling issue we discussed earlier could definitely lead to 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 in most cases, and landscaping should be laid out 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 isn’t supposed to. This water can kill plants by force or by overwatering. It will also displace flower bed materials like rock or mulch.
Water Marks
Water marks are the first sign that there is excessive moisture on a surface. Water marks are left behind even if pooling water has evaporated or dissipated into the ground. You will usually see water marks right under the rain gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a usually a sign that water is running down the outside of the gutters and not staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The last sign of gutter damage is by far the easiest to spot. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked, they obviously have damage. After a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your house to assess any possible damage to the roof shingles, outer walls, and rain gutters. These inspections are in addition to your standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a few simple tips Renton Gutters & More! recommends to help prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least once a year. You can extend the amount of time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out. Like with anything else, the better you maintain your gutters, the less issues you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean out gutters is during the spring, but to be extra cautious, give them a good cleaning in the fall, too. A lot of homeowners clean their gutters on their own, but there are many professional gutter cleaning companies that offer this service so you don’t have to handle the mess 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 problems we wrote about above.
We’d recommend that you complete an exterior home inspection following each season to be sure that your gutters are functioning correctly.
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 problem go on for too long, you could end up needing repairs in your basement, replacing vinyl siding or redoing an entire section of landscaping.