Common Gutter Issues to Leave to Your Trusted Handyman
Coming out of a long, hard winter, you and your Cincinnati area home may be feeling worse for wear. One area deserving of close attention is the gutter system around your home. There’s more at stake than simply your home’s exterior.
The Challenge
Your home’s gutters carry rainwater and meltwater away from your home’s foundations and walls. This prevents water infiltration around the foundation into the crawl space or basement. Gutter issues can lead to some expensive and unpleasant indoor issues:
- Water getting into the basement or crawl space can lead to problems with mold, mildew and poor indoor air quality.
- Water backing up in clogged or sagging gutters becomes breeding grounds for disease-bearing mosquitoes. The weight of standing water can distort aluminum gutters or pull them away from your roof’s drip edge. Water that falls behind your gutter against the fascia can lead to rot.
- Gutters wear out. The anchors—whether screws, gutter spikes or brackets—holding them against the home may work loose, the joints around downspouts and at right angles may begin to leak, or the downspouts themselves may pull away from your home’s walls.
If your home is only one story, you may have a good chance of resolving some gutter issues yourself, if you feel comfortable on a ladder and can avoid leaning an extension ladder on the gutters. For two-story homes, gutter issues are best left to a reliable handyman.
The Answer
Hire a trusted handyman to solve your gutter issues. A twice-yearly cleaning at the end of a hard winter and again in the fall will keep your roof, fascia, exterior walls and basement clear and dry.
- Remove all foreign matter from gutters, including twigs, shingle granules, leaves and pine needles.
- Clean out and inspect the joint between gutter and downspout.
- Check and re-secure gutter and downspout attachments to house.
- Ensure gutter leaders run well away from foundation walls, patios, decks and exterior basement doors, door wells and window wells.
For more professional guidance with your Cincinnati area home’s gutters, contact us at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling and Plumbing.
Image via Shutterstock.com