7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home
If you’re like many people, your gutters aren’t something you often worry about. They need regular gutter cleaning, but besides that, their purpose is incredibly simple.
It’s not until gutters aren’t doing their job that you understand just how important they are!
WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?
Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most houses in Bayonne. They blend into the exterior unless the homeowner chose copper or wood … materials that are definitely meant to stand out! Most are made of durable yet lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.
The purpose of rain gutters is to create a route of least resistance for rain and snow to get off your roof quickly. When they are in good shape, your gutters will lead 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 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! Keeping an eye on your gutters is easy and safe. If you identify any of the following issues, it’s a strong 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 are comfortable repairing or remedying on your own or if it’s something you should hire a gutter specialist for.
Sitting Water Near Your Home
Standing water near your home is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the rain runoff away from your house the way they should be. Pooling water can result in mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for mosquitoes. Plus, it will leave the areas surrounding your home constantly wet and muddy.
Mold or Mildew
Either one of these is a sign of gutter damage, whether you see mold or mildew on the rain gutters or on the sides of your house. Mold and mildew indicate there is a lot of moisture in that area – a possible issue with the gutters could be the cause. Keep in mind that mold and mildew 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 on it. This is a time where the advice and knowledge of a gutter specialist in Bayonne would be helpful.
Rain Pouring Over the Gutter
You will need to wait until it’s raining to discover this type of gutter problem. Hopefully this doesn’t mean you have gutter damage. It might just be that the gutter is clogged with debris and should be cleaned out. In either case, you need to have it checked right away.
Basement Leaks
Depending on the design of your basement, the leaking could be due to any number of things. The pooling issue we mentioned before could definitely lead to a basement leak. Egress windows and even cinder block walls can only keep out so much water. That’s why it is so important to keep your gutters in good shape!
Landscaping or Lawn Damage
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 gutter leak or clogged gutter will cause rainfall to overflow or pool in areas where it isn’t supposed to. This rain water can destroy plants by force or by overwatering. It might also displace flower bed materials like rock or mulch.
Water Marks
Water marks are the first sign that there is too much 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 right under the rain gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a usually a sign that water is streaming 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 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 home to identify any possible damage to the roof, outer walls, and gutters. These inspections are in addition to your standard home inspections.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR GUTTERS?
Here are some easy tips Bayonne Gutters & More! recommends to prevent gutter damage:
Clean your gutters at least once each year. You can extend the amount of time between gutter repairs by having them cleaned out. As with anything else, the better you care for your rain gutters, the less problems you’ll experience with them.
The recommended time to clean out gutters is in the spring, but to be cautious, give them a cleaning in the fall, too. A lot of 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 deal with the mess or the risk.
Inspect your gutters often. Signs of gutter damage can often be visible from the outside of the gutters. A quick inspection – with both feet firmly on the ground – should reveal any of the problems we discussed above.
We’d suggest that you do an exterior home inspection after each season to be sure that your gutters are working the right way.
When you see signs of gutter damage, act fast. Taking care of a problem 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.
However, if you let the problem go on for too long, you could end up needing repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.