Cleaning gutters regularly will avoid problems that most homeowners would not believe could even be connected to such a mundane task. Shingle particles, leaves, twigs, and even bird nests can prevent a gutter from diverting water away from the home, causing a multitude of issues. Larger items, like errant tennis balls, can make their way onto rooftops and down into gutters or downspouts, causing even more unexpected problems. Not all Cincinnati area roofing companies are willing to help homeowners by cleaning getters (Harper Siding and Roofing will!). Just remember that gutters that are filled up – not allowing the water to flow property — can cause many large issues.
Gutter Cleaning Protects Cincinnati Homes
When gutters fail to drain water away from the home, the water will run down the side of the home and begin to cause serious damage – to the home’s exterior and even interior. An immediate problem is likely to be the staining of the side of the home and water pooling alongside the foundation. Depending on the makeup of your home’s exterior, these stains can be very difficult to remove. When gutters fill with water, the resulting water backup can cause damage to the soffit, fascia, and the roofing underlayment, as well.
When water overflows the gutters and backs up under the roof’s drip edge, it can run down the exterior OR interior walls of the home. When this happens, the interior walls may develop soft spots and the backside of these walls can begin to grow highly toxic black mold – causing potential health hazards for your family.
When water overflows the gutters and travels down to the soil around the base of your house, soil erosion may occur making landscaping in these areas difficult, if not impossible. The heavy moisture that causes the erosion can also seep into or under slab foundations, a condition that can cause problems for the integrity of the slab over time.
Issues That May Be Found During Gutter Cleaning
Gutters can pull away from the soffit or the fascia along the edge of the roof, breaking the drainage connection and thus not allowing the water to correctly flow into the gutters as it should, making it more likely for water to run down the side of the home. In the instance of a heavy rainstorm, the water will wreak havoc on the home’s siding, and the water flow around the foundation could be quite heavy. A common cause for gutters pulling away from their mounting is due to them becoming too heavy after being filled with water and debris. The mounting nails will become loose, allowing the gutters to form a gap between their mounting edges and their mounting surfaces.
Another common problem is that the seams in the gutters can open up due to the weight of a gutter span. This can allow water to leak through gaps in the gutter and cause many of the same problems identified above.
Gutters can also become detached from the downspouts – a common condition due to debris blockage and even heavy wind. In this case, the water may enter the gutters correctly, but then pour down directly along the home’s foundation, rather than following the path of the downspout to a safe distance away from the home’s foundation.
The best recommendation to ensure that a home has solid, intact, clean and properly working gutters is to hire a professional roofing contractor, such as Harper Siding and Roofing of Cincinnati, with expertise in gutter cleaning and repair. Contact us today for a thorough gutter inspection and estimate to ensure everything is working properly.
References:
http://patch.com/massachusetts/watertown/bp–why-its-important-to-clean-your-gutters-annually