Many homeowners underestimate the importance of their gutters, albeit unintentionally. Like drainage in any other system, gutters direct water and debris away from your roof, to prevent leaks, decay and overall water damage.
However, there aren’t many homeowners who’re foreign to gutter problems. Over the years, one of the stereotypical drudgery chores every teen has hated to be stuck with is cleaning gutters, especially in temperate climates where leaves fall frequently. Today, we’re going to look at some of the main gutter problems you may encounter, and how to address and abate them as much as humanly possible.
An understanding of these problems, and more frequent addressing of them, reduces the labor involved in keeping them working properly, after all.
Clogs
Clogged gutters are, unsurprisingly, the biggest problem you can encounter. Debris such as leaves, dust and other materials which get carried by wind, can wind up in your gutters. If there’s not enough volume of water to move this stuff, it will build up. This is the problem leading to that gutter cleaning cliché.
Unfortunately, aside from things like gutter guards (which have their own problems), there’s really nothing you can do to avoid having to do this. However, if you make a point to do this every couple weeks (or at least monthly), the cleaning effort required is very minimal in the long run. It also helps to sweep your roof off regularly if you live in a wooded area. Of course, being on your roof is unwise if it’s steeply-pitched.
Sagging/Pulling Away
This is often a byproduct of clogs building up, creating weight the gutters aren’t intended to withstand. Gutters can begin to sag downward, or come undone from the edge of the roof. This will disrupt the flow of water, worsening the clogging in a vicious cycle. Keeping the clogs at bey, and regularly checking the fastenings and rigidity of the gutter sections will keep this problem under control.
Missing Gutters
If sagging or pulling away gets out of hand, sections of gutter can fall off completely. Some homeowners have a bad habit of ignoring this, just assuming the pitch of the roof will suffice to slough the water and debris away. If you have missing sections of gutter, however, they should be replaced right away. A partial gutter system is actually worse than no gutters at all, as the flow and irrigation will be disrupted.
Downspout Problems
Another problem that many homeowners may not notice, is the potential for downspouts to let water and debris out too close to the foundation. This can cause erosion of the foundation as well as soil liquefaction, which can in turn, destabilize the foundation over time. Simply angling the downspouts properly to guide the water away from the foundation will abate this.
To learn more about gutter maintenance and the consequences of neglecting it, fill out our contact form or call us today!
