Are Your Gutters Leaking?
Rain Gutters are important because – despite being simple and inexpensive – they protect more valuable home investments, such as the roof, foundation and windows. Taking care of and cleaning rain gutters is an easy way to help prevent your house from damages.
And it’s really much easier than you might think.
Spotting a leaking gutter early can protect an entire home. Here, we’ve provided a few indicators that you can be on the lookout for (without calling a roof specialist) to determine if there is a leak in your gutters.
How to Identify Leaking Gutters
There are a number of warning signs that point to leaking gutters, even if you don’t actually notice water dripping. You can do an inspection from the safety of your lawn to determine if the signs of a gutter leak are there.
Here are some things to look for:
Obvious Flaws – When the gutters pull away from the house, it causes stress on the connectors. Cracks can be the result of faulty installation, poor quality materials, storm damage or age. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any part of them pulling away from the roofing might not cause a leak just yet, but these things will definitely lead to issues. Having these defects repaired is affordable than replacing gutters or any of the potential damages a leak can lead to.
Pooling – If rain 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 in case.
Pooling water by your house can be really harmful for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and might cause windows to leak.
Drips – One of the more noticeable signs of a gutter leak is a drip, or several drips.
A drip from your rain gutter is likely a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom and it isn’t overflowing, there is an unseen leak somewhere. These minor leaks can happen 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 begin soon, if it hasn’t already. The area where the nail or screw fits starts to become a new area where water can get out if the fastener works its way out.
Sometimes the answer is as easy as tightening them, but it may also be necessary to seal the hole so no water can leak from around the screw or the nail, even after it is back in place. You can purchase this type of sealant, or let a gutter repair company apply it.
Water Stains or Rust – Water leaves evidence behind, especially when it is consistently or frequently there. Darker water stains appear because dirt and other materials stick to the moist surface better than on a dry one.
Rust is the product of nearly constant moisture, and the more severe sign you’ll see after water stains. water stains on gutters can be cleaned away and the gutters can be repaired, but if the gutters are rusty, they definitely have to be repaired or replaced.
Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t recently been a severe storm, and you haven’t had a tree limb fall on top of your roof, but you’re starting to notice paint flaking, cracking in the foundation or walkways, decaying wood on your porch or deck, or moldy window sills, you might have a gutter leak.
These are all signs that water has been leaking from somewhere it shouldn’t. They also go hand in hand with older building materials, so all of these 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 might not be the problem.
Rain Overflow – This issue is a pretty easy fix. It’s probably not a leak, but a clog that has to be cleaned out. You can do this or hire a Pontiac gutter cleaning company – or even a general handyman – to clean out the gutters.
Animal Nests – A small bird, squirrel, chipmunk can build a nest in your rain gutters or downspout, which will also 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 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 destroy aluminum gutters before you know it.
Professional Gutter Repair
Any of these visible signs indicate there are issues with your rain gutter that have to be addressed immediately. By quickly checking your gutters and downspouts, you can tell if there’s a cause for concern.
This is when a professional gutter service in Pontiac can be helpful. They can determine if gutter replacement is necessary or if you can get by with repairs to lengthen the life of your home’s gutters. Sometimes, gutter cleaning is all that’s needed.
Homeowners can decide to do basic gutter care and maintenance, such as gutter cleaning, themselves. Although it is time consuming and sometimes dangerous, they are ready to take on the project 1-2 times a year to save some money.
However, anything beyond gutter cleaning is best left to the professionals.
Start by calling a gutter service with good customer reviews like Absolute Gutters, Inc.. Then let us do a full inspection to correctly determine the problem. We offer free inspections for new customers.
If there are any gutter repairs to be made, or if we think that it’s time for gutter replacement, you can trust us to get the job done right. Our gutter repair service will save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!