Prevent Water Damage

2/19/2018 (Permalink)

Cleaning your gutters regularly can prevent water damage to your home.

It might not seem like a big deal, but it is very important to clean out your gutters. Professionals recommend doing it at least twice per year. Gutters allow water to safely flow from your roof and away from your home for proper drainage. When you gutters become clogged with leaves, twigs and other debris, this can cause clogging of the down spouts.  Water that gets dammed up in the gutters will find the path of least resistance as it tries to drain…and this often means it feeds back into the walls and ceilings of your home.

Water working its way into your home can lead to a host of problems.  The moisture can create the perfect breeding ground for mold growth in your walls or attic.  Water can cause rotting of your ceilings or drywall.  If gone unnoticed, rot can even settle into the wooden frames of your home and cause structural integrity problems.

Another way clogged gutters can allow the water to damage your home is the debris dams allows the water to flow over the rim of the gutter and wash down the side of your home. This can cause damage to paint or siding, and eventually allowing water to get inside your walls and wreak havoc, unseen.

Did you know that even flooded basements and cracked foundations can be a symptom of clogged gutters? If water cannot drain away from the house properly, it can pool around the foundation.  This water then expands when frozen, which can cause cracking to your foundation, which allows even MORE water into your basement

Water can be a destructive force to your home. And here in the Willamette Valley, we sure do see a lot of rain.  Do your best to protect your home from water damage. One of the easiest steps is to keep your gutters clean.

But if you do find water damage in your home, do not hesitate to call your team of Water Restoration Specialists at SERVPRO today!