While your gutters aren’t the most exciting system of your home or business, they are one of the most practical systems built into the structure. Gutters carry the weight of an extremely important function, and that is to convey water away from the exterior walls and foundation of your home or business.

In fact, in some cases, insurance companies have been known to lower the monthly deductibles for homes and businesses that maintain clean and well-functioning gutters. Yet, gutters are a simple design and the only way to protect your property from the damage that excessive rainfall and snowmelt can cause. Is it time you showed your gutters a little TLC this spring? Here’s how!

HOW GUTTERS PROTECT YOUR HOME & PROPERTY

Home and business property damage due to excessive water is preventable. That is, if you have a well-maintained gutter system in place. Standing water in the gutters can accumulate and spill over causing damage to parts of your roofing system and the walls of your home or business. That can cause rot and exterior fading. Following are more potential problems of gutters that are not well maintained:

  • Foundation: The primary function of your home or business’s gutter system is to displace water that could erode the soil around the structure’s foundation. Dirty or damaged gutters put your home or business’s foundation at a preventable risk.
  • Basement Flooding: The more water you have soaking into the ground around your structure’s foundation increases the chance of water seeping into the basement. Preventing water accumulation at this point can save you from problems such as mold and mildew growth in the basement and walls.
  • Driveways, Sidewalks, And Finished Surfaces: Maintaining a well-functioning gutter system is an investment in protecting your driveways, sidewalks, patios, and other finished surfaces around your property. By conveying water away from these surfaces, ground soil is less likely to be eroded and shifted by rainwater and snowmelt streaming from the roof.
  • Mosquitoes: Mosquitoes need standing or stagnant water to breed. If you have a problem with mosquitoes at your property, take a look at your gutters to see if they are the culprit for providing a safe haven in standing water.

SIGNS OF GUTTER WEAR & TEAR

Take a little time to inspect the gutters around your home. Do this from the ground. Welter Construction would never advise anyone to climb ladders or climb onto rooftops. It’s simply too dangerous.

Look for sagging gutters, rust, separated seams (with snap-together gutters), gutters that are pulling away from the fascia, separated boots at downspouts, and vegetation accumulation (e.g. leaves or vegetation sprouting from gutters). You’ll need to do another check while it’s raining to inspect for gutter leaks and water spilling over. If you spot any of these signs, it’s time your gutters were repaired or replaced.

TIPS FOR MAINTAINING YOUR GUTTERS

Cleaning your gutters could be a do-it-yourself project under certain circumstances. However, cleaning your own gutters become a problem when they are too high up to reach or perhaps at a place of business. If gutters aren’t too clogged with debris or too damaged, they can be cleaned with a hose attachment you can buy at any home store.

However, you may not want to risk injury or the potential damage to roofing shingles. It’s best to schedule regular gutter cleaning and maintenance each spring and fall season. Also, having a professional roofing contractor service your gutters is a great idea to keep your roofing system in good working order. Your roofing contractor could spot warning signs of roof problems.

Proper gutter maintenance is one of the easiest ways to protect your home or business from water damage. Call 763-780-6007 or contact online Welter Construction today if you would like to have your gutters serviced or inspected.