Gutters serve an extremely important purpose on any home. Particularly, the gutter’s job is to safely guide rain water away from the foundation of a home. This lessens the risk of soil erosion, structure damage, the growth of mold, and water intrusion.
When a gutter is leaking, it is more than likely not completing these important functions and putting your property at risk. Because water is complicated, you might not even notice there is a problem with your gutter until it is too late and the damage has already been done.
It is recommended to conduct preventative maintenance on your gutters every season in order to catch issues before they become bigger.
A start to a preventative maintenance plan is to conduct regular gutter cleaning. This should be done at least twice a year: one time in the fall and one time in the spring. If you live in a heavily wooded area, you may need to clean them more often.
Regular cleanings help to ward off gutter leaks, overflows caused by clogs, and other issues that could justify replacing gutters. Gutters can be cleaned yourself or you can hire someone to do it for you.
Although you have kept up with your regular cleaning routine, it is still good to check your gutters for leaks. One of the best ways to see if your gutters are working well is to observe them during an actual rainstorm.
Step outside during a heavy rainfall and look to make sure there is no water overflowing out the sides of the gutters. You should quickly be able to notice the problem areas if water is coming over the top of the gutter and splashing on the ground.
If you are unable to observe your gutters during a rainstorm, you can set up your hose in your gutters and observe that way. Be sure you have cleaned your gutters before testing for leaks this way.
Make sure to note any problem areas you find and plan to have them fixed.
Hopefully, you will not find any leaks or other issues when you test your gutters, but if you do, you should have repairs or replacements done as soon as possible before the leaks get the chance to cause any serious damage.
For the time being, you can “band-aid” the gutter to hold them over until they are fixed or replaced by sealing the leaks with either a liquid coating or a patch.
A leaking gutter system is challenging so take a moment each season to make sure your gutters are working correctly.