Are Your Gutters Leaking?

Gutters are very important because – despite being simple and inexpensive – they protect valuable home assets, such as the roof, foundation, and windows. Taking care of and cleaning gutters is an easy way to prevent your home from major damages.

And it’s a lot easier than you might think.

Finding a leaking gutter early can protect your entire home. In this blog post, we’ve provided a few indicators that you can be on the lookout for (without calling a roof specialist) to determine if you have a gutter leaking.

How to Identify a Leaking Gutter

There are a number of signs that indicate a gutter leak, even if you don’t see water dripping. You can do a visual inspection from the safety of your lawn to decide if the signs of a leaking gutter are there.

Here are some things to keep an eye out for:

Obvious Flaws – When gutters start to pull away from the home, it causes stress on the connections. Cracks can be caused by poor installation, low quality materials, damage or general wear and tear. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any section of them pulling away from the home may not be causing a leak yet, but will ultimately lead to issues. Having these defects fixed is affordable than installing new gutters or any of the potential damages a leak can cause.

Pooling Water – If water is puddling around your house, it’s a sign that a gutter leak is present. You should also check pipes, water spigots and any water source that is near your house, just to be sure.

Pooling water by your home can be especially damaging for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and might cause windows to leak.

Drips – One of the most visible signs of a gutter leak is a drip, or several of them.

A drip from your rain gutter indicates a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom of the gutter and it isn’t overflowing, there is an unseen leak. These small leaks will occur if a fastener has become loose (see the next item below).

Visible Fasteners – Finding nails and screws working their way out of the rain gutters means a leak will start soon, if it hasn’t already. The area where the nail or screw fits in becomes a new area where water can escape if the fastener works its way out.

Sometimes the solution is as simple as tightening them, but it may also be necessary to seal the hole so no water can escape from the edge of the screw or the nail, even after it is tightened again. You can buy this sealant, or let a gutter repair company put it on.

Water Stains or Rust – Water leaves behind evidence, especially if it is consistently or frequently there. Darker water stains appear because dirt and other organic debris stick to the moist surface better than it would a drier one.

Rust is the result of nearly constant moisture, and the more extreme sign you’ll see after you see water stains. water stains can be cleaned and the gutters fixed, but if gutters are rusty, they will definitely have to be repaired or be replaced.

Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t been a severe storm, and you haven’t had a limb fall on top of your roof, but you’re beginning to notice paint flaking, cracking in the foundation around the downspouts or walkways, decaying wood on your patio or deck, or moldy window sills, you could have leaking gutters.

These are all signs that water has been leaking from somewhere it shouldn’t be. They also are related to older building materials, so all factors need to be factored in when inspecting gutters for leaks.

Other gutter issues…

Not all gutter issues lead to major repairs. If you see these gutter issues, a gutter leak might not be the issue.

Rain Overflow – This issue is usually an easy fix. It’s probably not a leak, but a clog that should be cleaned out. You can do this or hire a Bayonne gutter cleaning company – or even a general handyman – to clean them out.

Animal Nests – A small bird, squirrel, chipmunk can build a nest in your rain gutters or in your downspout, which will cause overflow. Once the nest has been there for a little while, you will start to see some of the above signs of a leak in a gutter – like rust or puddling – if you don’t get rid of the nest.

Trees & Plants – A tree can easily take root in your rain gutter with little debris present. While it may be small now, a tree sapling will sprout strong roots that can damage aluminum gutters before you know it.

Professional Gutter Repair

Any of these easy-to-see signs mean there are issues with your gutter that must be addressed immediately. By quickly checking all of your gutters and downspouts, you can see if there’s a cause for concern.

This is when a professional gutter service in Bayonne can be of great help. They can distinguish if gutter replacement is necessary or if you can get by with repairs to lengthen the lifetime of your home’s gutters. Sometimes, basic gutter cleaning is all that’s needed.

Homeowners can decide to do basic gutter care and maintenance, such as gutter cleaning, on their own. Although it it can be time-consuming and sometimes dangerous, they are ready to take on the project 1-2 times a year to save a little money.

However, anything beyond basic gutter cleaning is best left to professionals.

Start by hiring a gutter service with good customer reviews like Bayonne Gutters & More!. Then let us do an inspection to correctly diagnose the problem. We offer free inspections for potential customers.

If there are any gutter repairs to be made, or if we feel that it’s time to install new gutters, you can trust us to get the job done right. Our gutter repair service can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!