Your home’s roofing system wouldn’t be complete without gutters. However, have you stopped to think why your home even has them? Your first thought might be that they’re there to get water off the roof and down to the ground, but wouldn’t gravity take care of that anyway? In fact, there are multiple reasons why homes have gutters.
Avoids Mold Growth
One thing you never want to deal with as a homeowner is mold growth. It’s hard to detect and expensive to remediate. Even after you get an all clear, you’ll worry for months or even years about it coming back. Mold can be dangerous to the structural integrity of a home and possibly even the health of those living there. Simply keeping your roof and home dry is the biggest reason why your house has gutters. Without gutters to divert the flow of water, it can pool around your home, eventually seeping into cracks and infiltrating your exterior. Any surface in your home that is exposed to water for an extended period of time is at risk for developing an problem with mold.
Controls Insect Breeding
When water is able to pool on an elevated surface, it can become a breeding ground for insects. Any bugs can be annoying to have around your property, but they can also be a risk of spreading disease or just stinging and biting people and pets who would rather be more comfortable spending time in your yard. Guiding the water away from your roof and diverting the flow where there won’t be any puddles is exactly what gutters can do for you.
Prevents Soil Erosion
When you call in the professionals from a roofing company, like Living Hope Roofing, to work on your roof or gutter, you might not think that they’re also saving the foundation underneath your home. Yet, they are. When rainwater comes off the roof wherever it naturally goes, it will also naturally disturb the soil at the edges of your home. That can lead to your foundation shifting, sinking, and cracking. Proper drainage prevents this. If you have garden beds, you can divert the flow of water into your mulch, putting the rain water to good use.
Protects Your Home’s Beauty
One subtle thing that gutters do for your home is to simply protect the visual appeal of it from the outside. This is particularly true for the siding of your home that is spared damage over time. Without gutters to divert the flow of water from your roof, it would run down the side of your home, creating stains and eroding surfaces. A home with gutters has more curb appeal and better resale value.
Cleaning out your gutters, or just remembering to hire someone to do it for you, can be a seasonal annoyance at various times throughout the year. While it might seem inconvenient, proper gutter maintenance helps your roofing system stay safe and do its job right. Now that you know the reasons homes have gutters, you can appreciate the ones you have and care for them better than ever.
