Are Your Gutters Leaking?
Rain Gutters are really important because – despite being simple and relatively inexpensive – they protect more valuable home investments, such as the roof, foundation and windows. Maintaining 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.
Identifying a gutter leak early can protect an entire home. Below, we’ve listed a few signs that you can be on the lookout for (without hiring a roofer) to determine if your gutters may be leaking.
How to Identify a Gutter Leak
There are several signs that indicate a gutter leak, even if you don’t notice water dripping. You can do an inspection from the ground to decide if the signs of a gutter leak are there.
Here’s what to look for:
Visible Flaws – When the gutters pull away from the home, it stresses the connections. Cracks can be caused by poor installation, low quality materials, storm damage or general wear and tear. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any section of them pulling away from the roofing may not cause a leak just yet, but will certainly result in issues. Having these defects repaired is affordable than installing new gutters or any of the possible damages a leak can cause.
Pooling Water – If water is puddling around your home, it’s a sign that a gutter leak is present. You should also check pipes, water spigots and any water source that is close to your home, just to be careful.
Pooling water near your house can be bad for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and might cause your windows to leak.
Dripping – 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 and it isn’t overflowing, there is an unseen leak somewhere. These small leaks will occur if a fastener has become loose (see the next item on our list).
Visible Fasteners – Seeing 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 escape if the fastener works its way out.
Sometimes the answer is as easy as tightening them, but it could also be necessary to seal the hole so no more water can escape from around the screw or the nail, even after it is back in place. You can purchase this sealant, or let a gutter repair company put it on.
Water Stains or Rust – Moisture leaves behind evidence, especially when it is constantly or frequently there. Darker water stains appear because dirt and other debris stick to the moist surface better than it would a drier one.
Rust is the result of constant moisture, and the more severe sign you’ll see after you see water stains. Most water stains on gutters can be cleaned and the gutters can be repaired, but if your gutters are rusty, they definitely have to be repaired or replaced.
Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t recently been a storm, and you haven’t had a tree limb fall on top of your roof, but you’re starting to see paint flaking, cracking in the foundation or walkways, decaying wood on your porch or deck, or moldy window sills, you may have leaking gutters.
These are all indications that water has been leaking from a place 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 every gutter issue leads to home repairs. If you see these common gutter issues, a leak may not be the problem.
Rain Overflow – This one is a pretty easy fix. It’s likely not a leak, but a clog that has to be cleaned out. You can do this yourself or hire a Bellevue gutter cleaning service – even a general handyman – to clean out the gutters.
Animal Nests – A small bird, squirrel, chipmunk or other pest can build a nest in your rain gutters or in your downspout, which can also cause overflow. Once the nest has been there a while, you will start seeing 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 gutter with minimal debris present. While it may be little now, a sapling will sprout strong roots that can destroy aluminum gutters before you know it.
Professional Gutter Repair
Any of these obvious signs indicate there are issues with your rain gutter that must be addressed immediately. By checking your gutters and downspouts, you can see if there’s a reason for concern.
This is when a gutter service in Bellevue can be helpful. They can determine if gutter replacement is necessary 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, like gutter cleaning, themselves. Although it can be time consuming and sometimes dangerous, they are eager to take on the project a couple of times each year to save some money.
However, anything beyond basic gutter cleaning should be left to the professionals.
Start by calling a gutter specialist with good customer reviews like Better Bellevue Gutters. Then let us do an inspection to correctly determine the problem. We provide 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 count on us to get the job done. Our gutter repair service will save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!