There are many external factors that can lead to a flooded basement or water damage in your attic, but one of the most common reasons for flooding in your home is clogged gutters. When homeowners fail to clean their gutters regularly, they run the risk of flooding inside their homes. Your gutters are the mechanism that protects your home from all kinds of water damage, so when they are not properly maintained, your home is at risk.
In this blog we will discuss how your gutter system directs water away from your home, why clogged gutters lead to flooding, and how you can prevent excess water from taking over the lower levels of your home.
The Purpose Of A Residential Gutter System
Gutters are crucial to keeping your home a clean and happy space. Gutter systems that are installed on a roof and the downspouts that point water away from the home will prevent damage to walls and the home’s foundation. Gutters help to collect rainwater, snow melt, and other water from your roof and move it away from the home.
Downspouts help to keep the water contained until it is in the ground or farther away from the foundation and basement. If downspouts are disconnected from the gutters, severe rainfall could cause flooding. Gutters that are no longer attached to the roof will not collect the water running off your roof and can be a cause of flooding as well.
Clogged Gutters Lead To Flooding And Foundation Damage
How exactly can clogged or damaged gutters lead to flooding? Well, there are a number of reasons that gutters can malfunction, but below are a few of the most common reasons you may experience flooding and how you can help remedy the problem.
Build-Up Debris
When debris fills your gutters, the water has nowhere to go and will overflow out the sides of your gutters. This can cause moisture underneath roofing materials or cause water to cascade on your porch or down siding. Clearing out gutters is the best way to prevent water from spilling over your gutters and leading to flooding.
Cleaning out gutters can be a time-consuming process, so hiring professional home cleaners will save you time and the risk of climbing on a ladder to reach your roof. They will also ensure that all the debris is completely removed. This will allow water to flow smoothly through the gutters again.
Gutter Detachment From Your Roof
When a home is built, gutters are secured to the roof fascia with brackets or screws. If any part of the gutter is loose or has become detached from the roof, water will seep through the cracks. When gutters start to sag, this is a clear sign that you need some gutter maintenance. Clearing out heavy debris and reattaching the gutters will help reduce flood damage.
Improper Downspouts
Gutter downspouts need to direct water at least 5-10 feet away from your home. If your downspouts are too close to your foundation, you can install downspout extenders to prevent soil saturation, house settling, and flooding.
Preventing Gutter Clogs
The best way to prevent flooding in your home is to keep up with your gutter maintenance. Hiring a home cleaner twice a year will prevent too much build-up of debris that leads to overspilling water. Proper cleaning of your gutters requires full removal of all debris and washing out excess dirt and dust. Hiring a professional will ensure that all debris is removed and your home is not damaged by improper cleaning.
As previously stated, installing downspout extenders will help move excessive rain and snow away from your foundation. The farther the downspouts run away from your home, the lower the risk of basement flooding.
Downspout extenders can come in flexible or rigid options. They can be made of similar materials to your gutters, plastic, or PVC. Other downspouts can be installed into the ground when your gutters are first installed. These downspouts are more discreet than other extensions and will move the runoff back into groundwater sources.
Other ways to prevent clogs are to trim trees regularly to prevent large overhanging branches. This will limit sticks from falling into the gutters and lower the amount of leaves that can blow into the gutters.
Gutter Cleaning From Sierra Vista Maintenance
Oftentimes times homeowners don’t realize that their gutters a severely clogged until it rains. Sierra Vista Maintenance offers gutter cleaning for homes in the Sacramento area so that your gutters function during the stormiest day or the sunniest. Our cleaners offer gutter-only cleaning where we scoop out the debris and dirt. We also offer downspout cleaning and flushing the downspouts so that all remaining particles are flushed out of the gutters. No matter the extent of cleaning you need, our team can help improve the functionality of your home.
