How Gutter Cleaning Prevents Roof Damage

Your gutters are very important to the well being of your home. Discount Gutter Services in McKinney advocates bi-annual gutter cleaning either DIY or with the help of our professional service. See below how gutter cleaning prevents roof damage and helps to extend the lifetime of siding, windows, doors and more …

Blocked gutters can result in destruction to your home at many levels from the basement up and can result in mold growth and foundation damage at the foundation level of your home. This is because rain that should be diverted away from the property instead gathers and seeps into the soil at the base of your walls.

Excess water traveling down your walls can also result in problems to everything from facia boards to windows. If you have wooden siding this will deteriorate faster and can rot or the paintwork can be damaged allowing water to slowly seep into your home. And the same thing may happen to wooden window frames.

Water ingress may then result in mold and damp that may not been seen for some time in particular if it is hidden.

For brick or stone houses you could also discover moss showing up in the mortar between bricks or stonework. If you do notice this it could be as a result of an issue with your gutters.

Going further up the building, obstructed gutters could also lead to damage to your rafters. This can be due to pest invasion, leaks or rotting and cracks to the structure of the roof.

How Clogged Gutters May Result In Damage To Your Roof

Blocked gutters could damage your roofline in a number of ways.

Roof Leaks and Sagging

Blocked gutters will prevent the free flow of water from the roof which can cause damage such as leaks and sagging. A leaking roof could often go unnoticed for some time and result in damage to many aspects of your property including your electrics, rafters and ceilings.

Gutters are made to carry rainwater away from your home. If gutters become blocked the rainwater pools in contact with the material of the roof for long periods of time that, over time, will begin to rot the wood and rainwater will eventually start leaking into your building.

And it’s not just destruction your roof, rainwater leaks will also damage the interior of your building, requiring you to rebuild ceilings and quite possibly have to fix furniture that has sustained damage.

Even minor leaks may result in huge problems as the damp they result in provides the ideal conditions for mold growth and mildew which may lead to not only structural and cosmetic damage but could have a severe effect on the health of your family.

If rain gets into fissures it will expand when it freezes causing further damage to the roof, and many roof leaks will at first be caused by ice dams created by blocked gutters.

Pests Using Your Gutters

Clogged gutters can also be a haven for pests this could be more than just a inconvenience but also a risk to health and cause roof damage.

Termites are a particular issue for your roof as they may attack any wood they find including the rafters the support your roof. Termite colonies can do significant harm before you notice them and in extreme examples could even cause your roof to collapse meaning you really don’t want to provide them a suitable environment to breed.

Telltale signs of termite damage include slumping rooflines or ceilings, the presence of termite wings or dead termites, if you see termites swarming, and if you notice tiles are coming loose.

While cleaning your gutters could assist in creating an inhospitable environment for termites and other pests to take up residence, it is still advisable to inspect your roof often to check for evidence of termites as different species thrive in different conditions.

Obstructed gutters may also attract birds due to the bountiful supply of nest material and often food. And while many of us love to wake up to the sound of birdsong and encourage feathered friends to visit our gardens, too many birds on the roof may result in deterioration of your roof.

Bird poo is highly acidic which may degrade paintwork as well as in large enough volumes it could be corrosive enough to weaken tar and degrade roof tiles.

Birds attracted by all that building material could also make their homes in your chimney and even inside your attic if they can find a way in, that can cause destruction of things that are stored there. If you do get a birds nest in your attic you will most likely hear them before you spot any damage but obviously preventing them from moving in in the first place is a better option.

Frequent gutter maintenance can also be an opportune moment to inspect both your gutters and roof line for damage or places where pests could gain access.

Obstructed Gutters Could Be a Fire Risk

Finally, blocked gutters could be a potential fire hazard. Firstly a large number of dry leaves and twigs could provide the perfect tinder and secondly rainwater seeping into your property can come into contact with electrical wires causing them to short circuit potentially creating sparks.

How to Unclog Gutters and Prevent Roof Damage

Unblocking gutters isn’t difficult and needs to happen frequently, ideally twice a year. Although, while not being complex, it does take time, is potentially dangerous, and you need a big ladder and a head for heights, so it can be a job you would rather pass on.

Once all the debris is gone use your hose pipe to run water through the gutters flushing through any final debris and ensuring that gutters are now unobstructed, water isn’t pooling anywhere where gutters have started to sag, and that darinpipes are flowing freely.

If drainpipes are blocked you may need a plumbers auger to remove any blockages in the drainpipes.

Ideally gutter clearing should be undertaken bi-annually. This also gives the perfect time to inspect your roof for damage looking out for any sign of invaders, leaks or structural damage.

To reduce the need for gutter cleaning you can consider having gutter protection installed to stop eaves and twigs entering and building up in gutters in the first place.