Rain gutters installed on most homes help to direct the water away from the side of the house and the foundation. However, the rain gutters will not work correctly when they are loose or filled with material like leaves and twigs. There are some things you can do to get your gutters ready for winter weather and help them protect your home. 

Inspecting Your Gutters

The first step in getting your gutters ready for the cold weather is to inspect all the rain gutters on the home to determine if repairs are necessary. Loose gutters, seams that are leaking, or missing downspouts are easy to address and will enhance the performance of your gutter system throughout the entire year. 

If the gutters are loose and ice starts to build up, the extra weight may be enough to pull them off the house. Hiring a gutter service to check the system for problems and tighten them up where necessary is an excellent starting point. The service tech will check the support brackets and the wood fascia and replace parts or move the mounts if a section is rotted or weak and may not be strong enough to support the gutters. 

You can check the joints between gutter sections by running water through them and looking for drips or leaks along the run. If there are sections that are leaking, the gutter service can seal the seems for you to stop the leak. Missing or damaged downspouts can be replaced with parts from the local building supply or home center. 

Cleaning The Gutters

After a full inspection of your home's gutters, having the gutter service clean all the runs around the house will help to ensure water runs off during the winter. If you do not have screens over the gutters, this is an excellent time to consider adding them to help reduce debris. 

If you live where ice is a problem, you may want to talk to the gutter service about adding heat tapes to melt the ice and keep the water flowing out of the system. Some gutter guard systems used to block debris also have heating systems built into them, so keeping the leaves and sticks out, the ice off the roof edge, and the water flow is more manageable.

Drainage Concerns

It is critical to check the outflow of the water from your downspouts to ensure the water drains away from your home. If you are having problems with water collecting at the base of the downspout, you may need to have the gutter service extend it or run it off a different corner. Standing water on the ground near the downspout is as bad as water coming off the roof without gutters as both can seep in around the foundation and cause long-term problems.  

For more information on gutters, contact a contractor in your area.