The effect of blocked and ineffective guttering on your household bills

Most householders think that blocked guttering is causing flooding and is possibly damaging the fabric of their home, which is resulting in expensive repair bills. But this news just got a whole lot worse. It is a standard condition in the policy wordings of most household insurance policies that you keep your home in good repair.

So if you have a flood because your gutters are blocked, then you might find that the insurer tries to wiggle out of paying you, if the flood and subsequent damage could have been avoided by a basic standard of good care. Your insurer could reject your claim or reduce the amount paid out to reflect your lack of care of the property.

Clearing gutters is sound household maintenance, therefore and is usually best done in spring and autumn. You may not easily be able to tell if your gutters are blocked or not until it is too late, and the rains are pouring down. Take a look at telltale clues provided by plasticbuildingsupplies.com, which might alert you to the fact that all is not well.

– Water spills over the side of the guttering during heavy downpours — the most obvious clue.
– You see birds or other animals like squirrels regularly hanging around the guttering. A secluded gutter full of moss and leaves is a very tempting place for a bird to build a nest.
– The gutter sags in places under the weight of the debris and detritus.
– There is staining on the wall or damp patches where the guttering is consistently failing to do its job.
– There is ingress of water into the house, perhaps around the windows or damp patches appearing on the walls.
– You can see small plants growing in your gutters.

What can cause the gutter to become blocked?

Falling leaves are a particular problem, and this doesn’t have to be in the autumn time, a severe summer storm can cause leaf drop, which can block your gutters. Moss is another thing, and pine needles are a particular problem. Moss from overhanging buildings is a favorite and even dead animals like birds.

If you are getting water staining on an external wall or a damp patch inside the house and your gutters are clear, then there may be a leak in one of the gutter joints. Sagging gutters can occur even when the guttering is free of debris and can be caused by rusty screws and brackets which have gone beyond their useful life.