Often, water damage to a home is not the result of flooding or leaky pipes—it’s the result of clogged gutters.  Leaves and debris can cause your gutters to get backed up and clogged. When your gutters don’t properly drain water, it can potentially become a danger to the roofing, siding, and windows of your home.

It’s important to clean gutters to ensure proper drainage. If gutters get clogged up, they can create a number of problems for property owners including:

• Bent gutters
• Wood rot
• Foundation damage
• Excess pressure on gutters which can cause leaking or separation
• Erosion of landscaping
• Providing a home for rodents, pests, insects, mosquitoes, etc

While it may seem like a chore that you’d like to keep putting off, it is an important home maintenance step and one which should not be ignored. Your gutters are there to help you keep your home functioning smoothly. Don’t neglect to maintain them or you could find yourself having to shell out a lot of money in order to repair them. Do your house a favor: Keep your gutters clean.

Every season presents its own set of challenges when in comes to preventing water damage. During the cold months, frozen pipes are a frequent source of flooding. Now that we have reached the warmer summer months, there are several things which could increase the possibility for water damage.

Summer storms, including hurricanes in the Atlantic states and monsoons in the southwest, bring with them heavy rainfall, high winds, and storm surges in coastal communities. These events can cause flooding as well as water damage from backed up storm drain systems and blown out windows and rooftops.

Flash floods, caused by slow moving severe thunderstorms, can result in water damage to homes in just about any area. Because they occur so quickly, the normal drainage systems are not able to keep up with them and the area becomes inundated with water.

Now is the time to check around your home for needed repairs and maintenance, such as checking all plumbing for leaks and making sure rain gutters are free of debris. Clogged rain gutters are the most common reason for water seepage under the roof or into the walls of your home.

If you experience flooding of any kind, the key is to act quickly to remove standing water and dry the area out as soon as possible. By using the services of a company which specializes in water damage restoration, you can help limit the amount of damage your home suffers and decrease the chance for mold growth.