Your home’s guttering system does a lot more than most people think. From protecting the foundation of your house from water damage to catching leaves and other debris from coming in contact with your siding, this vital area of your home can often go unnoticed until there’s a serious problem.
It is imperative that you avoid clogged gutters at all costs as they are a hazard to your home. You should take immediate action as soon as you detect that your gutters could be clogged; a professional gutter cleaning service can help you clear the debris and ensure that your gutters are functioning properly.
Is Your Gutter Getting Clogged Up?
Gutters are designed to assist the rainwater flow from the roof to the ground and into a designated location. Gutters that are clogged appear to be a little thing, yet they actually cause a lot of silent damage over time.
If your gutters are clogged and don’t flow properly, the volume of water that runs off the roof can build up and make its way through the house via the window wells or foundation cracks. If you see water bubbling out from under your exterior walls or if you spot moisture inside, this type of overflow is an indicator that your gutters aren’t draining as they should be. Water entering into foundation cracks can actually cause even more problems than it solves because it creates a moist environment that’s ideal for literally thousands of harmful fungi and bacteria to grow.
Don’t Let Clogged Gutters Ruin Your Property
Gutters are troughs that line the edge of your roof and collect rainwater. When they aren’t working correctly, though, your property may be exposed to a number of long-term, costly problems. Clogged gutters will overflow, dumping water directly beside your foundation. This can lead to serious problems like flooding in your basement or crawlspace, or even damage to the structure of your home. Over time, this extra moisture will also promote the growth of mold and mildew, which can cause health problems for you and your family.
In addition to causing immediate problems, clogged gutters can also do long-term damage to your home. When water overflows from your gutters, it can erode the soil around your foundation, which can lead to cracks in your foundation or basement walls. In extreme cases, this erosion can even cause your foundation to collapse. Gutters can also become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other pests. If you have a mosquito problem, it’s likely that your gutters are to blame.
You are undoubtedly aware of the significance of inspecting the foundation and maintaining your landscape, but what about your gutters? Continue reading to discover signs of clogged gutters as well as the harm that failing to maintain this vital home maintenance activity can do.
Common Signs of Clogged Gutters
Gutters need attention periodically in order to perform at their best and keep your home safe from water damage. While it may be easy to dismiss the visual signs of a clogged gutter, there is often more going on behind the scenes. The most apparent cause is when water begins overflowing from your gutters, but there are others that aren’t as obvious or linked to other minor concerns. Before you spend money replacing rain gutters because you believe they are beyond repair, consider these common clogged gutter signs one more time.
Insects and Pests
One of the most common concerns is an increase in insects and pests. If you have noticed an uptick in mosquitoes or other pests around your home, there is a good chance your gutters are playing host to these uninvited guests. Insects adore filthy and unclean gutters. Unnatural crawlies will swarm around these circumstances and make their home in your gutter. When the conditions are right and insects have taken up residence in your gutters, you’re likely to discover a teeming spider’s nest or a cloud of mosquitoes swarming outside your house. Snakes, rats, and other rodents will also be attracted to your property if you have clogged gutters.
Staining on your home’s exterior and interior
Staining is another sign that your gutters are clogged. This is the beginning of more serious damage to the outside of your home. Staining on your siding or on downspouts and gutters is a clear indication that your gutters have been overflowing as a result of a blockage.
The staining is usually a light brown or rust color and will be present on whatever surface the water has been leaking onto. If it’s only present on the outside of your gutters, that means the blockage hasn’t been severe enough for water to back up and spill over onto your roof or into your home. However, if you have staining on the inside of your gutters or on your ceilings, that means water has backed up and is spilling over the edge of your gutters. This is a much more serious problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
Sagging and Damaged Gutters
Gutters that haven’t been cleaned for a long time tend to sag under the weight of all the water and debris accumulated in them. Although sagging gutters aren’t particularly harmful to your home as a whole, if they begin pulling away from your roof, the gutter could come off and drag part of your house’s exterior with it. Gutters with lower-quality materials or that sag for long enough will be damaged, necessitating gutter replacement or repair.
Plants Started to Grow
When gutters aren’t cleaned on a regular basis, organic waste accumulates in the system. This dirt and trash, as well as the sunshine and moisture, create the ideal setting for seeds or fungus to emerge. If your gutters aren’t maintained, they may become a growing ground for robust weeds, grasses, plants, and even flowers.
4 Surprising Dangers of Clogged Gutters
When your gutters are blocked, your house has no method of shedding water after a major rain. This is especially inconvenient for your property if you live in Seattle, which may be hit with summer rainfall and the odd tropical storm. The following points explain what clogged gutters do to your house, as well as why you should avoid them:
1. Clogged gutters can lead to wall and roof damage.
When debris clogs gutters, water will accumulate until it seeps through the roof and walls. You’ll notice leaks inside your house as well as cracks forming in your roof due to the water as it sits. The leaks will gradually worsen until you remove the standing water and clear your gutters.
Aside from the roof, clogged gutters can also cause other damage to your property, such as walls separating from the structure and foundation erosion. If the problem is not addressed immediately, it will seep into your home’s interior and affect the walls, ceiling, and even electrical systems.
2. Your home’s foundation could be jeopardized.
Your home’s foundation is what keeps it standing upright. When your gutters are clogged, the water that pools on your roof will eventually make its way to the ground around your foundation. This can cause the soil to erode and shift, which will put stress on your foundation and potentially cause cracking or other damage. Taking care of your gutters is a lot simpler and less expensive than repairing the foundation.
3. Gutters that are clogged can cause disease.
One of the most dangerous things about clogged gutters is that they can cause disease. When water pools in your gutters, it creates the perfect environment for mosquitoes to breed. These pests can transmit diseases like West Nile virus and malaria. In addition, standing water is a breeding ground for mold and mildew, which can cause respiratory problems.
4. Your yard and landscape will be negatively impacted.
It may appear to be a minor detail when compared to potential cracked foundations, but clogged gutters can lead to destroyed landscaping. If your gutters get clogged, all of your hard work in developing grass, flower beds, and shrubbery will go to waste. If your gutters don’t operate properly during a huge storm, water could spill into unusual locations and ruin your meticulous landscaping. You may also notice puddles on your lawn, so you’ll need to re-seed grass that has been damaged too much to continue growing.
Protect Your Home From The Clogged Gutters
Gutter cleaning is an important part of home maintenance. If you don’t clean your gutters regularly, you could be inviting serious trouble into your home.
The ProClean Team offers gutter cleaning services in Seattle that are designed to keep your home safe from these dangers. We use only the best equipment available, and we have years of experience working in Seattle homes just like yours. Our gutter cleaning services are designed to protect your home from all types of dangerous clogs and debris buildup by using high-quality brushes that remove debris without damaging the gutter material itself.
You deserve peace of mind when it comes to caring for your home—and at The ProClean Team, we deliver! Call us today at (425) 238-1523!
