Are Your Gutters Leaking?

Gutters are important because – although they are simple and inexpensive – they protect more valuable home assets, such as the roof, foundation and windows. Maintaining and cleaning gutters is an easy way to protect your home from major damages.

And it’s really much simpler than you might think.

Spotting a leaking gutter early can protect the entire home. In this blog post, we’ve listed a few indicators that you can be on the lookout for (without calling a roof specialist) to determine if your gutters may be leaking.

How to Identify Leaking Gutters

There are a number of signs that suggest a gutter leak, even if you don’t actually see water dripping. You can do an inspection from the safety of your ground to decide if the signs of a gutter leak are there.

Here’s what to look for:

Obvious Flaws – When the gutters pull away from the home, it stresses the connectors. Cracks can be caused by faulty installation, low quality materials, storm damage or age. Cracks in the gutter or seeing any part of them pulling away from the roofing might not cause a leak yet, but will ultimately cause problems. Having these defects fixed is affordable than replacing gutters or any of the possible damages a leak can lead to.

Pooling – If rain is pooling 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 house, just to be careful.

Pooling water near your house can be especially damaging for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and could cause windows to leak.

Drips – One of the most obvious signs of a leaking gutter is a drip, or several drips.

A drip from your gutter could indicate a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom and it isn’t overflowing, there is a hidden leak somewhere. These minor leaks will happen if a fastener has become loose (see the next item on our list).

Visible Fasteners – Finding nails and screws working their way out of the gutters likely means a leak is going to begin soon, if it hasn’t already. The area where the nail or screw fits in becomes a new area where water can escape if the fastener starts to fall out.

Sometimes the solution is as easy as tightening them, but it could also be important to seal the hole so no more water can leak from around the screw or nail, even after it is back in place. You can buy this type of sealant, or let a gutter repair company apply it.

Water Stains or Rust – Moisture leaves behind evidence, especially if it is consistently or frequently there. Dark water stains appear because dirt and other debris stick to the moist surface better than it would a drier 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 and the gutters can be repaired, but if the gutters are rusty, they definitely have to be repaired or be replaced.

Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t been a severe storm, and you haven’t had a tree limb fall on your roof, but you’re starting to notice paint flaking, cracking in the foundation around the downspouts or walkways, rotting wood on your patio or deck, or mold on your window sills, you might have leaking gutters.

These are all signs that water has been leaking from a place it shouldn’t be. 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 home repairs. If you see these common gutter issues, a leak might not be the issue.

Rain Overflow – This one is a pretty simple fix. It’s probably not a gutter leak, but a clog that needs to be removed. You can do this or hire a Lakewood gutter cleaning company – or 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 will also cause overflow. Once the nest has been there a while, you will start seeing some of the above signs of leaks – like rust or pooling – if you don’t get rid of it.

Trees & Plants – A tree can easily take root in your rain gutter with minimal debris present. While it may be little now, a tree 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 problems with your rain gutter that must be addressed immediately. By checking all of your gutters and downspouts, you can see if there’s a cause for concern.

This is where a gutter service in Lakewood can be helpful. They can distinguish if gutter replacement is required or if you can get by with repairs to extend the lifetime of your home’s gutters. Sometimes, basic gutter cleaning is all that’s needed.

Homeowners can decide to do basic gutter care, like gutter cleaning, themselves. Although it is time consuming and dangerous, they are eager to complete the chore a couple of times a year to save a little money.

However, any job beyond simple gutter cleaning should be left to the professionals.

Start by finding a gutter specialist with good customer reviews like TLC Gutters Inc. Then let us do a full inspection to accurately diagnose the problem. We provide free inspections for new customers.

If there are any repairs to be made, or if we believe 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!