The Dangers Of Standing Water In Your Gutters

By Author: Gutter Empire Vancouver
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Rain gutters are an essential element for any house. These tubes attached to the roof edges hold rainwater and diverts it to the ground away from the house foundation. The absence of a gutter will cause the roof and walls of the house to get damp. So, these are a crucial element to keep your property safe and protected from moisture and its damages. But even having a gutter system can lead to several issues such as standing water in gutters can lead to seepage that can cause several problems.

Why Water Stagnates in the Gutters?
Rain gutters are extremely essential to keep your property dry and safe from moisture-related damages. However, there can be various reasons why water can get stagnant in the water gutters of the house roofs.

Clogged System
Often rainwater or even water from melting snow accumulates in the gutters because of a clog that has appeared in the downspout. This is the most common problem that many homeowners face with their gutter systems. Several elements can lead to clogging of the downspout like animal nests, golf balls, tree branches, pine needles, dry leaves, stray tennis, and ...
... many more.

When you have left the clog as it is, rain water will keep on accumulating on the roof and will start damaging your roof slowly. Any clogs in the downspouts are quite difficult to detect in the first place. So, you can know about the clog only when the water has started getting stagnant. An expert can help in understanding the clog and coming up with a solution.

One of the best ways is to maintain the cleanliness of the gutter system properly. Experts mention that cleaning the gutter system during fall and spring season is the best way to keep debris away from the system. When the downspout is free from any debris, the chances of standing water in gutter reduces to a huge extent. Also, one of the best ways is to invest in a gutter guard if you are staying in an area where you have trees surrounding your house. The guard will keep the debris away from entering the system, avoiding clogging. But of course, even when you have gutter guards, you must make sure to schedule a maintenance of the gutter system at least once or twice a year to avoid any problems in advance.

The Slope
Among various essential elements of a gutter system, slope of the system is the most important one. If the tubes are not installed in the correct slope, the water will not drain in the downspout properly. Often when homeowners try to install the gutter system on their own, they make mistakes of installing the system in the wrong slope. The wrong slope does not allow the water to flow smoothly and ultimately causing standing water.

So, how do you know at the first place that the gutters are working fair in draining the water smoothly? Check the gutter system work just after a downpour. If the water flowing is also gathering in a corner, you must know that the slope of the gutter system is not correct. You must immediately call an expert to discuss this issue and install the system again in a proper slope.

The expert will first try to realign the slope by correcting the hangers. But if this does not work out well, then the only solution left out is to change the entire system. The experts will suggest you to remove the entire system and then apply a new one or so accordingly.

How is Stagnant Water Harmful?
You may not have the time to check your roof and gutter system because of your busy schedule. So, you must check out the dangers that you are involving in leaving standing water in gutters. Here are some potential and major damages that you may have to face if you are not taking care of your gutter system and letting gutter water stay in the system for long.

Pressure On Foundation
Standing water in gutters and on the roof will overflow one day and water will start flowing near the foundation of the house. The downspout is installed to throw the rainwater away from the house foundation. But if the downspout is clogged or not aligned properly because of which the water is overflowing, the water will start affecting the soil near the house’s foundation. This will start causing many structural damages.
The whole house stands on the foundation and any damage to the foundation will cause damage to the house also. The water may start seeping in the basement of the house by creating cracks in the roof. You will know this when you start getting bad odour from the basement.

If you have already faced this problem, the next immediate thing that you must to do is to take out the water from the basement and the foundation. You can do this with the help of a sump pump.

Settling Foundation
Even when you have removed the water from the foundation, you cannot at times avoid the impacts of the standing water. If the water has been there for a long time and has caused massive pressure, the foundation has a tendency to shift and then settle accordingly. When such a thing happens, you will notice cracks on the walls as well as floors getting uneven. Not just the walls or the floor, the shift can even cause damages to other structures like the masonry chimney. Also, gutters holding water for long suffers from cracks and other damages. So, whenever you see standing water in the gutter system, you must not wait for it to start accumulating in the foundation. You must take immediate action when you notice standing water in the gutter system because if the water starts acting against the foundation, dealing with the damages at times may get really difficult.

Mold in the Basement
Standing water in gutters for too long can cause moisture to impact the basement also. The moisture builds up on the walls and ceilings of the basement causing mold growth. The mold does not only damages the walls and ceilings but also can cause several health issues for the people staying in the house. Many people get respiratory conditions like asthma because of mold growth on the basement.

Also, the mold growth and moisture can cause damage to the assets in the basement like furniture, seasonal clothes, or any of your other expensive possessions. So, the standing water can cause so much damage at once. Why do you have to take the risk of all these when you can actually avoid them by taking care of your gutter system on a regular basis?

Pest Attack
Apart from the mold, pest is another problem that you can face because of standing water in the gutter systems. When the pests like flies and mosquitos start breeding in the accumulated water, they will start attacking you soon in your living area of the house. Mosquitoes can spread several diseases among the family members while some other flies and pests can infect the pers of the house with several conditions like heartworms.

So, not only the standing water in gutters will impact the house but also will bring deadly diseases and health problems for the entire family. So, if you do not wish to risk the health of your family, you must make sure to clean up the gutter system on a regular basis so that there is no chance for the water to get stagnant.

Important Tips to Care for your Gutter System
Standing water in your house’s gutter system can lead to disastrous impacts on the structure of the house as well as the family members residing in the house. But you can completely, avoid such damages by taking only a few essential steps. If you clean your gutter system on proper time and keep it in well-maintained condition, you do not have to face any trouble.

● If you are all set to learn the ways to clean and maintain your gutter system, here are the steps that you can follow.
● Run an inspection of the gutters at least two times in a year to check whether everything is fine or not.
● Keep your roof clean from debris like leaves, twigs, and others as and when possible.
● If you have noticed rust or holes somewhere, act immediately to repair them before it turns into a massive disaster.
● Check for clogs during the fall season or spring season and clean them up to let the water flow smoothly.
● Install a gutter guard to keep debris away from the water that is flowing in the downspout.
● Add a downspout extension to offer extra safety to the landscape surrounding your house.

Standing water in gutters can be a common problem in regions of rainfall or snow. Even after you have cleaned the gutters in the fall season, you may notice water accumulation again in the spring season for the same reason. Standing water can cause several damages to the foundation as well as other assets of the house. So, before it does such damages, it is always better to avoid such situations from occurring. Follow a regular cleaning and maintenance regime to avoid standing water and protect your property from unwanted damages. Also, if you have gutters not draining properly, do not hesitate to contact gutter service near me experts to get a solution.

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