Suburban neighborhoods know all too well about the harm leaves can cause to the roof. Being a homeowner means taking care of the home, and gutter duty is an important chore that everyone must do.
If you’re not familiar as to why you should be doing it, then you’re at the right place. Seeing as it’s that time of the year, we thought what better way to assist than to lay out the whole plan.
In this article, we will discuss the 5 ways leaves in the gutter can cause harm to your roof. With all that said, let’s start.
1. It Can Damage the Foundation
The biggest and most serious harm that comes from a clogged gutter is the foundation. The foundation must be kept in peak condition as anything but that will result in costly repairs.
Costly repairs are something that no one wants. But a clogged gutter is the easiest way to do exactly that.
Whenever your gutter is clogged up by leaves, the pouring water in the fall can go down to the foundation. It will first go along the sides and eventually pool around the foundation. Not taking care of this issue can potentially develop cracks and ultimately damage the foundation itself.
In extreme cases, the whole foundation can collapse. But if you’re lucky, it will only result in mold growth which is something that you absolutely don’t want.
2. It Can Damage Wooden Parts of Your Home
Wood and water are something that you don’t want to be mixing. While both coexist in perfect harmony, wood is very prone to rot when exposed to water. The roof is made out of wood, so that’s something you need to make sure it doesn’t get into contact.
And seeing as a clogged gutter is the easiest way to subject fascia boards to water, it can easily deteriorate and cause severe damage to this part that holds the gutter in place.
Fascia boards that have been long exposed to water can collapse the entire gutter system along with the downspouts. While this might not be a severe issue, the resulting damage can spread towards other parts of your home such as the foundation.
Not only that, but it can create a whole other mess on itself. Soon or later you will have to replace the gutter system entirely, and that can cost a pretty penny.
3. Damages To the Landscape
If the gutters are clogged with leaves, then the water will eventually pour-over. We mentioned that this can potentially cause severe damages to the sides of the home and the foundation itself.
Well if that wasn’t enough then the huge influx of water can also cause severe damages to the landscape. It doesn’t matter what type of plant you have surrounding your home, do know that they will feel the influx of water.
Plants are meant to drink only the amount of water they need, and an influx of water will cause damages. But not only that, but the huge influx of water can also damage the grass. This can result in holes so big that will take you months to fix and replace it with fresh new grass.
If you have a problem with a clogged gutter, then we suggest you hire the right people to take care of the issue. These professionals come and fix any problem related to the gutter such as cleaning, unclogging, and repairing a potentially damaged gutter. Learn more about these services on this site.
4. Ice Dames
Roof problems are many when it comes to having leaves in the gutter. But having leaves there isn’t so much a problem as when they clog it up. When water mixes with leaves and they don’t go through the downspouts, well that’s a recipe for disaster.
We talked about potential damages to the foundation, the landscape, and any other wooden part of your home. But a very real issue is when water freezes.
There is a reason why we clean the gutter every fall. Not only does the fall bring with itself more leaves, but it makes it the perfect time to prepare the gutter for the winter.
Depending on where you live, the winter months can bring with them a lot of colder days. Water that pours over from your gutter is prone to freezing and transforms into ice dams. Ice dams are fun to look at but they’re not fun for the roof.
Why? That’s because a lot of ice dams, and bigger ones, can drastically harm the roof by bringing it down and lowering the edge.
As you might expect, a roof isn’t meant to have its edges lowered, so this is a very serious issue.
The ice dams will lower the roof, causing more water to pour through the sides, and eventually, some of that water will seep into the home.
It’s safe to say that ice dams can also form even if you have a clean gutter. But a clogged gutter only increases the chances of ice dams to become a problem.
5. Insects Will Reside In Your Roof
One rather nasty problem that is very harmful to the roof is the fact that insects can take shelter in your roof when your gutter is clogged. That’s because a clogged gutter makes it a prime destination for insects to grow. Some of the most common ones are mosquitoes.
But once these grow and develop, they will look for warmer places to spread even more. And the roof is the prime location for insects to reside in once they’ve grown and are ready for the next step.
Don’t let mosquitoes and other insects cause harm to your roof by using it as shelter and food. Some of these insects can really harm your roof by eating away the wooden parts of the roof.
How to Clean the Gutter and Prevent Roof Damage
The simplest and easiest way to clean the gutter is to grab a safety ladder, a bucket, safety goggles, gloves, and a scoop, and start cleaning the gutter from leaves. You can also use a water hose to move the debris through the downspouts.
