Out of the Gutter! The Dangers of Not Cleaning Overflowing Gutters

When I was a wee young boy (in my mind I still am!) I remember water constantly flowing down the window of my bedroom whenever we got a lot of rain. Since I live in the UK you can probably guess at how often I saw this, and it left the windows incredibly dirty. What was this waterfall of murky water and bits of soggy leaves caused by? Overflowing gutters of course.

I don’t blame my dad for not getting up there and cleaning the gutters more often; it’s a bit like going to the dentist – it’s not universally loved! The problem is that putting it off can cause far more harm than just taking a few hours out of your weekend, and when you’re forking out wads of cash to fix the damage caused simply because you couldn't be bothered cleaning them – or at least getting someone to clean them – you’ll be wishing you’d acted sooner.

The Dangers of Overflowing Gutters

• Damage to siding: This is damage to sides of your home. If you've got a regular flow of water flowing down the side of your house then it will inevitably cause some damage. For example, if the side of your home is painted or wood panelling then this will more than likely wear away over time if you don’t deal with the flow of water. Like my windows it will also leave behind dirt, which will need to be cleaned if you want to retain any kind of decent appearance to your home.
• Damage to the roof: When you’re gutter is blocked it’s going to quickly fill up with water, which is why it started overflowing in the first place. This water can start soaking into the actual roof; causing leaks inside the home, damage to an attic or loft area and even compromise the structural integrity of the entire building. We once had to replace part of the bedroom ceiling as water had collected behind it and caused a large bubble that could split at any time. The cause? We hadn't unblocked the gutters in a long while.
• Damage to concrete and driveways: Concrete may be incredibly tough but surprisingly it’s not exactly best friends with water. Water can damage concrete through a process known as ‘leaching’. During this process water finds its way into cracks in concrete and can dissolve various minerals that are present within the hardened concrete paste. These minerals are then washed out of the concrete as the water continues flowing, being deposited somewhere along the waters path, creating gaps and filling up spaces. Eventually this will cause cracks and fractures in the concrete. You obviously can’t keep the concrete constantly dry, but allowing a regular flow of water to hit the concretes surface will only speed up the degradation process. It’s then you’ll find out that replacing your driveway is far more expensive than cleaning a gutter!
• Mould: This is the most serious of the damage overflowing gutters can cause as mould can be both detrimental to your family’s health and be an expensive problem to fix. It’s caused by water seeping into your home; so the best thing to do would be to tackle this problem before the mould has a chance to form in the first place. If it does form it will develop spores that will cause health problems such as breathing problems and itchiness. If allowed to develop further it can cause serious damage to you home, damage that can knock thousands off its value.

So, just how often should you clean gutters?

Unfortunately there’s no one answer you can give to this question, it totally depends on the area you live in. Areas that get more rainfall will require more regular checks to the condition of the gutters, as they will collect debris more often. Similarly areas with a lot of trees will lead to a higher probability of gutter blockage, especially when the trees start to lose their leaves in during the autumn.

So I would say at least twice a year in average circumstances, but it’s up to you to keep an eye on water suddenly overflowing from them. If you know there’s a storm coming make sure to check if they’re clean enough to handle the onslaught that such a storm would bring, and after the storm check them again to see how much debris has been swept up into them.

You can help protect your gutters from gathering too much debris by installing gutter guards. Another good product to consider buying is a Guttermate too; which will help protect drains and soak-aways from any blockages gutter debris causes.

Image kindly provided by Tom Paton on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons Licence.