Your home’s gutters are designed to help water drain from your roof and flow away from your home’s foundation. Without good gutters, water saturation and water intrusion could cause a variety of problems in your home. Mold, mildew, wet rot and structural damage are all problems that your home could experience without functional gutters. If you’re a new homeowner, here’s what you need to know about maintaining your gutters.

Clean at Least Once Annually

As the year progresses, leaves and needles from nearby trees blow into the gutters. Clogs from leaves can cause the water to back up and overflow the edges of the gutters. This can be prevented by cleaning the gutters periodically.

Some Eden Prairie homeowners clean their gutters themselves, others hire professionals to clean their gutters for them. Homeowners hoping to clean their own gutters will need a ladder, a bucket, a small shovel, protective gloves and eye protection. To clean the gutters, the person doing the cleaning must stand on the ladder, look into the gutters and scoop out any debris into the bucket. When the cleaning is finished, the homeowner can test the gutters by spraying them with water. If the water flows out of the gutters and out the downspout, then the gutters are clean.

Inspect Periodically

Performing regular gutter inspections can help the homeowner decide when the gutters need to be cleaned. Knowing what to look for can help. During rainstorms, homeowners can watch their gutters to see if the water is overflowing the edges. If the water is running out the downspout without overflowing the edges, this is an indication that the gutters are in good condition.

Other signs of gutter problems include:

• Sagging.
• Gutters detached from the edges of the house.
• Leaking from the seams in the gutters.

Problems like the ones above need to be repaired as soon as possible. If they’re not repaired, the home could sustain damage over time.

Know When to Hire a Professional

Hiring a professional to repair or install new gutters can help ensure that the work is done properly. If the work is not done properly, this can make the home difficult to sell when the time comes. Faulty gutters can scare off home buyers, or can lead to lower offers.

If you’re a homeowner who would like to install or repair your home’s gutters, contact a qualified and experienced contractor.