Your home’s gutters are not at the top of your priorities, we know. In fact, most homeowners tend to totally neglect them. The reason may be unintentional and just because they are not always in your line of sight so you forget about them. It is also possible that you are really avoiding your gutters because of the hassle of caring for them. Cleaning your gutters is not only a tedious job – it can also be dangerous. That does not mean you should ignore them, though! Doing so may mean you are allowing your house to eventually be destroyed by those neglected gutters.
One of the most common issues you’d probably experience is a small leak. If your gutter has a hole, no matter how small it is, the metal surface of the gutter is exposed to water. This may lead to rusting and eventual deterioration. It could even cause the whole gutter structure to collapse.
As you can expect, if your gutters are neglected, your roofing will also be affected. If your gutters are not draining properly, snow or water that does not spill over the edges will end up sitting on the roofs for some time. Of course, this additional weight will strain your roof. What’s worse is that this stagnant water can find its way underneath the tiles of your roof and cause water damage to the support structure, as well as the drywall surface of your home’s interior.
Another possible disaster is a leaky basement. This is also caused by your gutters’ failure to drain well. What happens is that water spills down and accumulate around the foundation of your house. The concrete foundation absorbs the water and causes a leaking basement.
You know what happens next. A leaky basement brings a new set of problems like potential gas leaks, electric shocks, moulds, and water damage to your furniture and personal items. Additionally, when your concrete foundation gets wet all the time, it will go through contraction and expansion during winter. This can weaken the structure and cause cracks. The structure might even collapse.
The damaged gutter can also ruin your landscaping when water keeps spilling over the rim. The plants that are directly beneath the gutters can get oversaturated and die. If your sidewalk is also under, then the constant splashing of water on the same area can lead to cracks in the concrete.
It may be easy to ignore your gutters now that they are still in a relatively good condition. But when the time comes that you have to deal with a mouldy basement, a damaged roof, a cracked foundation, and a ruined landscape, you will definitely regret you neglected those gutters.
