Prepare Your Gutters for Spring!

March is when winter is still hanging around, but a light marked “spring” beckons at the end of the tunnel. We know April showers aren’t far off.

Are your gutters ready to handle the rain? Preparing your gutters for spring showers is better done earlier than late.

These rooftop metal tubes and extensions are probably still clogged with ice. When the rains arrive, though, you need them working exactly as designed. Ensuring this performance involves work both at roof and ground levels.

Rooftop snow remaining? Getting rid of it, usually with roof raking, will prevent additional ice buildup in gutters. Clearing the snow away opens a path for water to flow directly into gutters, too.

If you forgot to clean out your gutters last fall, now is the time to remove any remaining leaves, seeds or other debris.

Downspouts are the next vital link. Winter ice and snow often disconnect or damage downspout parts. Check to see that downspouts are connected along their entire length: at the roof, midway and lower half. The curved connection at the very bottom is especially susceptible to decoupling.

If a ground-level downspout is covered in snow, shovel it out. Open a path through the snow for water to flow. A downspout blocked by snow can create a pond perilously close to a house. This standing water will tax a sump pump, or find its way elsewhere inside. Remember, the idea of a downspout is to drain water away from a building!

Large piles of snow next to a house can also block water from draining away from the foundation. Move the snow away as best possible, if mounds still exist.

We know what the dying winter has wrought. We don’t know what the coming spring will bring. Getting your gutters ready now will have your home prepared, no matter what.