Ah, downspouts! Of all your roofing system’s parts, the lowly downspouts are possibly the most overlooked. Twin Cities homeowners probably give their roofing systems no more than a fleeting thought every few years, so those downspouts get no love, do they? Yet a clogged downspout can ruin your home!
One Job
Downspouts perform only one job: ushering water from your home’s gutters down along the exterior siding and out into your yard via extensions or French drains. They keep your home’s foundations dry, prevent the siding from getting saturated, and safeguard your landscaping.
Placed every forty feet (at a maximum), downspouts must carry the volume of water your roof sheds in the rain. That can be a lot of water; hundreds of gallons roll off the roof, move along the nearly horizontal gutters, and then tumble down downspouts.
One downspout can only handle a certain water volume. For ideal drainage, downspouts every 25 to 30 feet work better than 40-foot separations.
No Go
A downspout clogged with twigs and organic debris cannot allow the water to flow from the roof to the gutter to the yard. When the water does not go down the downspout, it overflows the gutters.
The overflow can soak into the fascia and rot the trim. It can allow water into your attic or between exterior and interior walls. It can usher in a miserable fight against mold and mildew.
Run Free
Comfortable climbing an extension ladder? You can clean your home’s downspouts with a hose, some gloves, and a broom handle.
Cautiously climb to the downspout connection with your gutter and remove any screen you find. With gloved hands, remove clogging organic matter. Take the hose up to the downspout’s top and blast water straight down to push out any other clogs. If a clog is nasty, use the broom handle to coax it loose. Run water for a few minutes to ensure the downspout is leaf-free.
If you face ongoing issues with your home’s downspouts, consider having a local contractor install leaf protection systems on your gutters to prevent litter from entering and clogging your downspouts. The same contractor may also be able to add additional downspouts to prevent backups and overflows.Find out more today about gutters and downspouts by contacting us at Midwest Roofing Siding & Windows. Put our expertise to work for you, solving your most challenging problems with your roofing, siding, gutters, and windows.