Are Your Gutters Leaking?
Gutters are so important because – despite being simple and relatively inexpensive – they protect more valuable home assets, such as the roof, foundation and windows. Taking care of and cleaning rain gutters is an easy way to prevent your house from damages.
And it’s a lot simpler than you might think.
Spotting a leaking gutter early can protect your entire home. Below, we’ve listed a few indicators that you can be on the lookout for (without hiring a roof specialist) to determine if you have a gutter leaking.
How to Identify a Leaking Gutter
There are a lot of warning signs that suggest a gutter leak, even if you don’t actually see water dripping. You can do a visual inspection from the safety of your ground to determine if the signs of a leaking gutter are there.
Here’s what to keep an eye out for:
Obvious Flaws – When the gutters pull away from the roof, it causes stress on the connectors. Cracks can be the result of poor installation, low quality materials, storm damage or general wear and tear. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any part of them pulling away from the roof might not be causing a leak just yet, but these things will certainly result in issues. Getting these defects fixed is affordable than installing new gutters or any of the possible damages a leak can cause.
Pooling – If water is puddling around your house, it’s a possible sign that a gutter leak is probably present. But you should also check underground pipes, water spigots and any water source that is near your home, just to be sure.
Pooling water by your house can be really harmful for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and can cause windows to leak.
Drips – One of the more noticeable signs of gutter leaks is a drip, or several drips.
A drip from your rain gutter could indicate a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom and it isn’t a big overflow, there is an unseen leak somewhere. These small leaks can happen if a fastener has gotten loose (see the next item below).
Visible Fasteners – Finding nails and screws wiggling their way out of the gutters means a leak will start soon, if it hasn’t already. The area where the nail or screw fits starts to become a new area where water can escape if the fastener works its way out.
Sometimes the solution is as easy as refastening them, but it might also be important to cover the hole so no more water can leak from around the screw or the nail, even after it is back in place. 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 present. Darker water stains will appear because dirt and other organic materials adhere to the wet surface better than it would a dry one.
Rust is the product of constant moisture, and the more severe sign you’ll notice after water stains. water stains on gutters can be cleaned and the gutters fixed, but if gutters are rusty, they will definitely need to be repaired or replaced.
Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t recently been a 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, rotting wood on your patio or deck, or moldy window sills, you may have a gutter leak.
These are all signs that water has been leaking from a place it shouldn’t. They also go hand in hand with older building materials, so all factors need to be taken into account when inspecting gutters for leaks.
Other gutter issues…
Not every gutter issue leads to major repairs. If you see these gutter issues, a gutter leak may not be the problem.
Rain Overflow – This one is a pretty easy fix. It’s probably not a leak, but a clog that should be removed. You can do this yourself or hire a Gresham gutter cleaning service – even a general handyman – to clean out the gutters.
Animal Nests – A bird, squirrel, chipmunk can build a nest in your gutters or downspout, which can also cause overflow. Once the nest has been there while, you will start to see some of the above signs of leaks – like rust or pooling – if you don’t get rid of it.
Trees & Plants – A tree can take root in your rain gutter with small amounts of debris present. While it may be small now, a sapling will sprout really strong roots that can damage aluminum gutters before you even know it.
Professional Gutter Repair
Any of these visible signs indicate there are issues with your rain gutter that must be addressed right away. By quickly checking all of your gutters and downspouts, you can see if there’s a reason for concern.
This is when a gutter service in Gresham can be of great help. They can determine whether gutter replacement is required or if you can get by with repairs to extend the lifetime of your home’s gutters. Sometimes, gutter cleaning is the only thing that’s needed.
Some homeowners decide to do simple gutter care and maintenance, like gutter cleaning, on their own. Although it is time consuming and sometimes dangerous, they are ready to complete the chore a couple of times each year to save a little money.
However, anything beyond simple gutter cleaning should be left to the professionals.
Start by calling a gutter service with excellent customer reviews like Gresham Gutter Service. Then let us do a full inspection to correctly determine the issue. We provide free inspections for new customers.
If there are any gutter repairs to be made, or if we believe that it’s time to install new gutters, you can count on us to get the job done right. Our gutter repair service can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!