Are Your Gutters Leaking?
Gutters are really important because – despite being simple and relatively inexpensive – they protect more valuable home investments, like the roof, foundation and windows. Maintaining and cleaning rain gutters is an easy way to prevent your home from damages.
And it’s really a lot simpler than you probably think.
Identifying a leak in your gutters early can protect your entire home. Below, we’ve listed a few signs that you can look for (without hiring a roofer) to determine if you have a gutter leaking.
How to Identify a Gutter Leak
There are a lot of signs that indicate a gutter leak, even if you don’t see water dripping. You can do a visual inspection from the lawn to determine if the signs of a leaking gutter are there.
Here’s what to look for:
Visible Flaws – When the gutters pull away from the house, it causes stress on the connectors. Cracks can be caused by faulty installation, poor quality materials, damage or age. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any part of them pulling away from the home might not be causing a leak just yet, but these things will definitely create problems. Getting these defects fixed is affordable than gutter replacement 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. But you should also check pipes, water spigots and any other water source that is close to your home, just in case.
Pooling water by your house can be very harmful for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and can cause your windows to leak.
Drips – One of the more noticeable signs of a leaking gutter is a drip, or several drips.
A drip coming from your rain gutter could indicate a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom and it isn’t overflowing, there is a hidden leak. These minor leaks will happen if a fastener has become loose (see the next item below).
Visible Fasteners – Seeing nails and screws wiggling their way out of the rain gutters means a leak will begin soon, if it hasn’t already. The hole where the nail or screw fits starts to become a new area where water can get out if the fastener works its way out.
Sometimes the answer is as easy as tightening them, but it might also be important to cover the hole so no more water can leak from around the screw or nail, even after it is tightened again. You can purchase 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 present. Darker water stains will appear because dirt and other organic debris stick to the moist surface better than it would a dry one.
Rust is the result of nearly constant moisture, and the more extreme sign you’ll see after water stains. water stains on gutters can be cleaned and the gutters fixed, but if gutters are rusty, they definitely need to be repaired or replaced.
Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t been a storm, and you haven’t had a tree limb fall on top of your roof, but you’re beginning to notice paint flaking, cracking in the foundation or walkways, rotting wood on your patio or deck, or mold on your window sills, you could have leaking gutters.
These are all signs that water has been leaking from a place it shouldn’t be. They also are related to aging building materials, so all of these factors need to be considered when inspecting gutters for leaks.
Other gutter issues…
Not all gutter issues lead to home repairs. If you see these gutter issues, a gutter leak might not be the issue.
Rain Overflow – This one is a pretty simple fix. It’s likely not a gutter leak, but a clog that has to be cleaned out. You can do this or hire a Pleasanton gutter cleaning service – or even a general handyman – to clean them out.
Animal Nests – A bird, squirrel, chipmunk can build a nest in your gutters or in your downspout, which will also cause overflow. Once the nest has been there awhile, you will start seeing some of the above signs of a leak in a gutter – like rust or pooling – if you don’t get rid of the nest.
Trees & Plants – A tree can easily take root in your rain gutter with small amounts of debris present. While it may be small 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 obvious signs indicate there are problems with your gutter that need to be addressed right away. By checking all of your gutters and downspouts, you can tell if there’s a cause for concern.
This is where a gutter service in Pleasanton can be of great help. They can determine whether gutter replacement is required or if you can get by with repairs to lengthen the life of your gutters. Sometimes, gutter cleaning is all that’s needed.
Some homeowners choose to do simple gutter care and maintenance, like gutter cleaning, on their own. Although it is time consuming and dangerous, they are eager to complete the project a couple of times each year to save a little money.
However, anything beyond basic gutter cleaning should be left to the professionals.
Start by finding a gutter service with good customer reviews like Prime Pleasanton Gutters. Then let us do an inspection to correctly diagnose the issue. We offer free inspections for potential customers.
If there are repairs to be made, or if we think that it’s time to install new gutters, you can count on us to get the job done. Our gutter repair service can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!