7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like many homeowners, your rain gutters are not something you often think about. They need biannual gutter cleaning, but besides that, their purpose is very simple.
It’s not until your gutters aren’t doing what they’re supposed to that you realize how important they are!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most houses in Fayetteville. They blend into the home’s exterior unless the homeowner decided on copper or wood … building materials that are designed to stand out! Most are made of durable but lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The point of rain gutters is to create a path of least resistance for rain to get off your roof quickly. When they’re in good condition, your rain gutters will direct runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, protecting your home’s exterior from mold and mildew, the foundation and basement from leaking water, and the rain gutters themselves from 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 simple to repair to be the cause of any major home repairs! Keeping an eye on your gutters is simple and safe. If you notice any of the following issues, it’s a pretty strong indication that your rain gutters have some kind of damage.
As soon as you identify 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’d rather call a gutter company to handle.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Pooling water near your home is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the water runoff away from your home the way they are supposed to. Standing water can cause mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas surrounding your home perpetually 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 exterior of your home. Mold and mildew indicate that there is too much moisture in that area – a potential issue with the rain gutters could be to blame. Keep in mind that mold and mildew are more likely to grow on the north side of a home anyway, so if that’s where these substances are growing, it may be because that area gets very little direct sunlight on it. This is a time where the advice and knowledge of a professional in Fayetteville would be a great help.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will need to wait until it’s actually raining to discover this type of gutter issue. Hopefully this doesn’t mean your gutters are damaged. It might just be that the gutter is clogged with debris and needs to be cleaned. Either way, you want to have it looked at right away.
Basement Leaks
Based on the construction of your home’s basement, your leak might be caused by any number of things. The pooling problem we mentioned before could definitely result in a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls can only block out so much water. That’s why it is so necessary to keep your gutters in working order!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Gutters empty directly onto the ground most of the time, and landscaping should be designed to work with this flow of water to help it disperse into the ground. However, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool in areas where it shouldn’t. This standing water can destroy plants by force or by overwatering. It will also displace flower bed building materials like rock or mulch.
Water Marks
Water marks are the first sign that there is a lot of moisture on a surface. Water marks are left behind even if standing water has evaporated or dissipated into the ground. You usually see water marks beneath the gutters or behind the downspouts. This is a usually an indication that rain water is running down the outside of the gutters and not staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The final sign of gutter damage is the simplest to find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked in the middle, they definitely have damage. After a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your home to assess any possible damage to the roof shingles, outer walls, and gutters. These inspections are in addition to any routine home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a few easy ways First-Rate Fayetteville Gutters 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 care for your gutters, the less issues you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean gutters is during the spring, but to be cautious, give them a cleaning in the fall, too. Many homeowners choose to clean their gutters themselves, but there are 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 gutter damage can be visible from the outside of the gutters. A quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the issues we discussed above.
We’d recommend that you do an exterior home inspection following each season to confirm 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 easily be replaced very affordably and quickly.
But, if you let the issue go on for too long, you could end up making repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire section of landscaping.