How Are Clogged Gutters Ruining Your Home?
Your roof keeps your home dry and protected as it sheds water and snow. Your gutters are a key component of the drainage system that keeps the water and moisture moving away from your structure. When you have clogged gutters, it puts your home at risk.
No matter what type of gutter your home has, they work in the same way, and all will collect debris that will block the flow of water.
To ensure that your gutters are doing their best job, it’s essential that they are kept clean and not allowed to clog, which can lead to larger problems you’ve never thought about.
Let’s look at some of the worst-case scenarios of clogged gutters, and then at what the solutions are.
What happens when your gutters are clogged?
Clogged gutters can cause damage to many parts of your home.
Some of the most common damages to your home include:
- Standing water damage
- Wood damage
- Stone and brick damage
- Foundation damage
- Yard damage
- Pest influx
- Broken gutters from ice
Below, we discuss the different types of damage caused by clogged gutters in detail (and how to fix these issues).
1. Standing water is the enemy
Your gutters are designed to keep water away from your walls and foundation, allowing it to drain to your yard.
When a clog occurs, water can pool and contribute to all kinds of problems that result in costly repairs.
Clogged gutters lead to poor drainage that can affect your home from top to bottom.
2. Wood damage is common
It is likely that the fascia boards that hold the gutters on your home are made of wood.
When water overflows the sides of your gutter, the area it covers will begin to deteriorate and rot. This accelerates the decay of the wood – and the end result is costly replacements.
If your home has wood siding, the water pushed off by gutter clogs can cascade down the exterior walls of your home, creating paint damage, mildew, and rapid aging.
3. Stone and brick damage is also possible
Your stone or brick home is not immune to water damage, either.
When clogged gutters force water onto the sides of your home, the damage still adds up.
The prolonged exposure to moisture can cause cracking, mortar deterioration, and mold.
What starts as a simple clog can result in a great deal of scrubbing, treatment, and repairs to your exterior walls.
4. Foundation damage is seldom considered
This largely hidden part of your home can be affected in serious ways by improper drainage.
When gutters clog and malfunction, water is allowed to pool in one area around your foundation. This will create cracks and possibly displace your foundation.
Crawl spaces will also be affected, and costly repairs can result.
If your home has a basement, the same standing water can lead to interior wall damage, mold, decay and other problems.
5. Your yard will suffer
Nothing will take out a flower bed or other planted area like standing or streaming water.
When gutters don’t work properly due to clogs, the downpour can create muddy areas where nothing will grow, wash out the valuable soil around roots, and kill plants.
In addition, all that mulch you’ve spent time installing on your beds? A misplaced downpour from gutter overflow can float it away.
6. Yes, pests too
Standing water is also an invitation to a variety of insect problems.
It’s not only biting mosquitoes, which can lay and hatch eggs in just over a week – standing water also attracts wood destroying pests such as termites and carpenter ants.
In addition to any puddles formed by the overflow from clogged gutters, the water still in the gutter is more than enough to create cycle after cycle of mosquitoes.
This is a nearly invisible source of bites and distress, all above your head.
7. Ice damage is water damage, too
Although you might think about your gutters the most during the rainy season, they are also important when the temperature drops in the fall and winter. Some of the worst damage caused by clogged gutters can happen during this time of year.
In the winter, clogged gutters will contribute to ice dams. These form when ice build-up along the edge of the roof prevents melting water from draining – creating a “dam”.
With nowhere to go, the water can back up and begin to seep between the shingles, creeping into the attic and possible further down.
Ice dams can occur any time a snow is followed by a thaw and then a temperature drop into the freezing range. In other words – often, in our area.
Ice puddles and icicles will form when gutters are clogged and not draining properly. In a shady spot or side of the house, a puddle can create a black ice hazard, causing dangerous slips or falls.
Closer to the roof, large icicles can be formed as water melts and collects at a clog. Although a fun part of the winter landscape, too many large icicles can actually get heavy enough to break or bend a gutter – causing even more problems.
What to do about your clogged gutters
1. Be a detective
The next time it rains, take a walk around your house. Check for spots that are overflowing the gutter rim, visible signs of debris above the edge of the gutter, and downspouts that don’t seem to be releasing much water.
In the winter – keep an eye out for the icicles mentioned above, as well as ice accumulation in strange areas.
2. Clean them yourself
If you don’t mind heights, have a good ladder, a long hose, and something to shovel with, you can clean your gutters yourself. This is not recommended if your house is more than one story tall.
There are also a variety of tools that you can purchase and use – from shop vacuum attachments to extension grabbers. These are all dependent on your love of gadgets and your patience.
Either way, the recommendation for cleaning your gutters is twice a year – more often if you have a lot of trees in your yard.
Spring and Fall are the most effective times for this task – that’s when leaves and blooms drop.
3. Hire a gutter cleaning service
When your home is more than two stories tall, you don’t have a good ladder, time, or you’ve been reading some of the latest statistics on ladder falls, you’ll want to consider hiring someone to clean your gutters.
A competent company can clean your clogged gutters for you while you stay calm and clean – and on the ground.
4. Install gutter guards or covers
Another option is adding covers to your existing gutters that will filter the debris without obstructing the flow of water. Several styles are available to choose from.
These can be added to match your home, reduce maintenance, and are easily installed by your contractor.
Conclusion
Gutters are designed to move water away from your home, prevent standing water, and protect your structure.
When they do this job well, they prevent a variety of problems that can prevent costly repair. Clogs from leaves and other debris are the primary cause of gutters not performing their job.
A regular gutter cleaning schedule and the addition of gutter covers can help prevent everything from foundation repairs to mosquito bites to mold to leaks.
Be sure to add regular gutter cleanings to your annual “To-Do” list; you’ll be so glad you did.