How to Prevent Damage from Clogged Gutters in Chevy Chase & Montgomery County

The time to climb up the ladder and get those leaves out of your gutters is in the fall, not spring. Because oh, what a difference a few short months can make.

Gutters are designed installed to move water away from your roof to some other spot on your property where no damage can be caused. But that only happens when gutters are free of leaves, dust, dirt, and other debris. When allowed to clog up, your gutters can cause all kinds of damage and aggravation, including rotting fascia boards (the boards your gutters are mounted to), leaks inside your roof and walls, damaged soffits (the horizontal boards under your eaves), and even damp basements.

Still not ready to grab the ladder and climb? If so, maybe it’s because you can see water draining from your gutters so you figure all is well. But that’s not necessarily the case. Slow-draining gutters, for example, can cause water to pool around the foundation of your home. If left unattended long enough, you could be facing water in your basement and resulting damage to floors, walls, and valuable items

And then there’s all the bad things that can happen when your gutters aren’t cleaned out before the snow and ice come. The biggest and most common hazards are ice dams, which are just like they sound: accumulated masses of ice that typically form in and around your gutters. While clogged gutters aren’t the only cause of ice dams, they are contributing factors.

Once an ice dam forms, snow has nowhere to go. So instead of melting and sliding off your roof, it looks for other escape hatches, like inside your roof shingles to your attic and beyond.

If you’re physically not able to clean your gutters on your own, there are plenty of people around to assist you. If, however, you’ve already incurred water damage to any part of your home, regardless of the cause, contact Your 1 Plumber today for help in repairing the damage and preventing further water incursion.