7 Signs of Gutter Damage on Your Home

If you’re like most homeowners, your rain gutters are not something you really worry about. They need biannual gutter cleaning, but besides that, their functionality is very simple.

It’s not until rain gutters aren’t doing their job that you realize how important they are!

WHAT DO GUTTERS DO?

Gutters and downspouts go unnoticed on most homes in Columbia. They fade into the exterior unless the homeowner chose copper or wood … building materials that are meant to stand out! Most are crafted from durable but lightweight aluminum or vinyl siding.

The purpose of gutters is to create a route of least resistance for rain to get off your roof. When they’re in good condition, your gutters will lead runoff away from the foundation and landscaping, will protect your home’s exterior from mold and mildew, the concrete and pavement and basement from leaking water, and the gutters themselves from wear and rust.

When gutters are damaged, it can lead to thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your house and property.

ARE YOUR GUTTERS DAMAGED?

Gutter damage is too simple to repair to be the cause of major home repairs! Inspecting your gutters is simple and safe. If you see any of the following issues, it’s a pretty good indication that your gutters have some kind of damage.

Once you find a possible gutter issue, you can decide if it’s something you feel comfortable fixing or remedying by yourself or if it’s something you’d rather call a gutter service to handle.

Sitting Water Near Your Home

Pooling water is a sure sign that your gutters or downspouts are not directing the rain runoff away from your home the way they should be. Pooling water can lead to mold, weakening of your foundation, and creates the perfect habitat for pesky mosquitoes. Plus, it will leave the areas surrounding your home consistently 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 on the sides of your home. Mold and mildew mean that there is excessive moisture around that area – a potential problem with the rain gutters could be the cause. Remember that mold and mildew are likely to appear on the north side of a home anyway, so if that’s where these substances are appearing, it may be because that area gets very little direct sunlight on it. This is a scenario when the advice and knowledge of a professional in Columbia would be helpful.

Rain Pouring Over the Gutter

You will have to wait until it’s 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. In either case, you want to have it checked ASAP.

Basement Leaks

Depending on the construction of your home’s basement, the leaking might be caused by any number of things. The pooling problem we mentioned earlier could definitely cause 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 good shape!

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. However, 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 either by force or by overwatering. It can also displace flower bed building 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 sometimes left behind even if pooling water has evaporated or dissipated. You usually see water marks beneath the gutters or directly behind the downspouts. This is a typically an indication that water is pouring 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 find. If your gutters are bent, sagging or cracked, they obviously have damage. Following a storm, it’s a smart idea to walk around your home to identify any 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 a few simple tips Columbia Gutters, Inc. recommends to help prevent gutter damage:

Clean your gutters at least once each year. You can extend the amount of time between gutter repairs by keeping them cleaned out regularly. Like with anything else, the better you care for your rain gutters, the fewer problems you’ll have with them.

The best time to clean out gutters is during the spring, but to be cautious, give them a good cleaning in the fall, too. Many homeowners clean their gutters themselves, but there are many professional gutter cleaning companies that provide this service so you don’t have to handle the mess or the risk.

Inspect your gutters often. Signs of 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 problems we discussed above.

We’d recommend that you do an exterior home inspection at the end of each season to confirm that your gutters are functioning the right way.

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 problem go on for too long, you could end up making repairs in your basement, replacing expensive vinyl siding or redoing an entire area of landscaping.