Your gutters’ job is to catch falling rain and move it away from your house and your foundation. This is because if water gets into the foundation, it can damage your home itself by causing excess moisture to hold and turn into mold and rotting over time.
Gutters can overflow for several reasons including excess rain, too few gutters or downspouts, and clogged gutters or downspouts
Too much rain at one time can cause leaves and debris to get into your gutters and clog them. Likewise, too much rain can fill your gutters quickly making it difficult for them to drain and flow properly. If there is a lot of rain with a storm, they just can’t keep up. This can cause the gutters to sag and is actually the most common reason that gutters overflow.
You can’t control Mother Nature. It’s going to rain as much as it wants to rain. So what can you do?
Invest in high-quality gutters. The better quality your gutters, the less likely they will overflow from rain alone. If you live in an area that has large amounts of rainfall, you may also look into having splash guards installed. Splash guards prevent water from overflowing from your gutters during a storm.
It is possible to not have enough gutters on the sides of your home. Then, when it rains, your gutters and downspouts are overworked and then they overflow. Furthermore, this can cause damage to your gutters and downspouts. Damaged gutters and downspouts lead to leaking which can then damage your home as rainwater gets into your foundation.
Make sure that you have enough gutters installed on your home to meet the type of rainfall in your area. Depending on where you live and the size of your home, you may even need to install gutters on the sides of your home. Furthermore, adding more downspouts can also improve the life and quality of your gutters. This will help with the overflow without needing to put more gutters on your home.
When debris such as leaves, twigs, dirt, bird nests, or even insect nests get stuck in your gutters and downspouts, it can cause them to overflow. With all of this debris blocking the exits, the water has nowhere to go but over the sides of your gutters! This not only allows water to threaten your foundation and other parts of your home but it also can cause your gutters to sag over time which will only contribute to the issue at hand.
You want to know how to fix or avoid clogged gutters and downspouts? Routine cleaning! Having your gutters periodically cleaned by a team of professionals is the best way to prevent clogged gutters. These professionals can come in and safely remove all leaves, sticks, nests, and any other debris that may be lurking in your gutters. An added benefit to routinely cleaning your gutters is keeping pests away such as hornets, bees, birds, and even rats. A clogged gutter makes a cozy home for any of these sneaky creatures!
If you have noticed water pooling around the base of your home after a heavy rainfall or have even seen water falling over the sides of your gutters, you need to take action as quickly as possible. Here at M&M Gutters, we can diagnose your problem and come up with the best solution whether that be clean your gutters and downspouts and set you up for routine cleanings, replace sagging gutters to prevent more spillage, or even upgrade you to seamless gutters to further decrease your chances of blockage. Whatever your issue, M&M Gutters is here for you!
