7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you are like most people, your rain gutters are not something you really worry about. They need regular gutter cleaning, but besides that, their purpose is very simple.
It’s not until rain gutters aren’t doing what they’re supposed to that you realize how important they are for your home!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go virtually unnoticed on most homes in Omaha. They fade into the exterior unless the homeowner has opted for copper or wood … building materials that are definitely designed to stand out! Most are crafted from 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 shape, your gutters will direct runoff away from the home’s foundation and landscaping, protecting your home’s exterior from mildew and mold, the foundation and basement from leaks, and the rain gutters themselves from wear and 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 easy and safe. If you notice any of the following signs, it’s a pretty strong indication that your gutters have some type of damage.
Once you notice a gutter issue, you can decide if it’s something you are comfortable fixing or remedying by yourself or if it’s a project you should call a gutter specialist to handle.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Standing water is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not routing the water runoff away from your house the way they should be. Pooling water can result in mold, weakening of your foundation, and provides the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will make the areas around your home constantly soggy and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a bad sign, whether you see mold or mildew on the rain gutters or on the sides of your house. Mold and mildew mean that there is excessive moisture around that area – a possible issue with the rain gutters could be to blame. Remember that mold and mildew are likely to appear on the north side of a house anyway, so if that’s where these substances are appearing, it may just be because that area doesn’t get a lot of direct sunlight. This is a time where the advice and expertise of a gutter specialist in Omaha would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will have to wait until it’s raining to find this type of gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean your gutters are damaged. It might just be that the gutter is full of debris and should be cleaned out. Either way, you want to have it looked at right away.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the construction of your home’s basement, the leaking could be due to any number of things. The pooling problem we discussed earlier could definitely cause a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls will only block out so much water. That’s why it is necessary to keep your gutters in good condition!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
Gutters pour 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. However, a gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool where it shouldn’t. This pooling water can destroy plants either by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed building materials like mulch or rock.
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. You will usually see water marks under the gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a typically an indication that water is running down the outside of the gutters rather than staying inside of them.
Visible Gutter Damage
The final sign of gutter damage is the easiest to find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked, they definitely have damage. Following a storm, it’s a good idea to walk around your house to identify any possible damage to the roof, outer walls, and rain gutters. These inspections are in addition to any routine home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are a couple of easy ways A-OK Omaha Gutters recommends to help prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least once a year. You can lengthen the time between gutter repairs by having them cleaned out regularly. As with anything else, the better you care for your gutters, the fewer issues you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean gutters is during the spring, but to be extra cautious, give them a cleaning in the fall, too. Many homeowners choose to clean their gutters on their own, but there are many local gutter cleaning companies that offer this service so you don’t have to handle the mess or the risk.
Check your gutters often. Signs of gutter damage can often be visible from the outside of the gutters. Just a fast inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the signs we mentioned above.
We’d suggest that you complete an exterior home inspection after each season to confirm that your gutters are functioning correctly.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Fixing a problem before it becomes too bad can save you a lot of time and money. A small crack, for example, can be sealed, or the section of gutter with the crack can be replaced very affordably.
However, if you let the issue go on for too long, you could end up making repairs in your basement, replacing vinyl siding or redoing an entire section of landscaping.