There are various ways in which climate change is making an impact on our environment these days. It has an impact on the water cycle, causing more fluctuations in times of heavy rainfall and droughts. With climate change, the average temperature rate keeps increasing, resulting in changes in weather patterns. Climate change can affect your gutters.
What Is Climate Change?
Climate change is the average change in weather conditions over time. This change is influenced by factors like solar radiation, volcanic eruptions, human activities, biological processes and movement of the earth’s surface plate tectonics.
Climate change affects many things under the sun. As small as some of these things can be, they can affect how humans go about their daily activities. When some house components like the gutters do not function as they should due to climate change, we may not be able to perform daily functions normally.
How Does Climate Change Affect Your Gutters?
Climate change affects the amount of rainfall in different parts of the world. While some places experience drought as a result, others have heavy rainfall. In terms of the latter, flow patterns and water vapor concentrations are affected, causing fast and furious downpours. This can affect your gutters in several ways.
Some ways how climate change affects your gutters include
Gutter size
The size of your gutters is important when it comes to the effects of climate change. This is true as your gutter may have been manufactured in ways that would make them unable to handle heavy downpours or rainfall.
In cases of severe downpours, small gutters and gutters in bad shape can be damaged. This is because of the wear and tear they may suffer as a result of the weight or too much water flowing through them. If this kind of weather persists for a long time, small-sized gutters may not be able to hold on for too long.
Flooding and clogging
Debris can collect in areas of your gutter as a result of prolonged rainfall or downpours. This happens especially on the downspout areas or around the edges of your gutters. It can cause a large amount of water to fall on a particular area, resulting in the gutter or surrounding areas being damaged by debris.
There could also be limited water flowing through your gutters due to the presence of large amounts of debris. This may result in flooding of the surrounding areas and even your house.
When the flow of water off your roof is not through the gutters and down the downspouts, damage to your house can happen. This is because clogged water will not flow away from areas of your home, causing flooding in some cases. The flooding can even happen inside your home, depending on where the gutter is clogged.
Problematic gutter areas
As much as climate change can negatively impact your gutters, there is a positive factor to it, too. This is because problematic gutter areas can be easily identified during heavy rainfall or downpours. This will prompt you to immediately take action to address the issue. Moreover, you don’t have to uninstall the whole gutter system before fixing the issue.
In case the overflow is more to the gutter’s center, it may be an indication that the downspout provided is not enough for proper water flow. More downspouts would need to be added to ensure that water flows freely.
Furthermore, clogged, sagged or damaged areas of your gutter could also be a sign that a renovation is needed. Ensure that you act fast to prevent severe damage when you notice problematic areas of your gutter system.
Rust and corrosion
Too much sunlight and/or rainfall that is a result of climate change can make your gutters rust and corrode. Rust and corrosion happen especially if the gutter system is made of iron-like materials.
When rust and corrosion come in contact with elements of water, a chemical is produced. You must ensure that this chemical in whatever form is not consumed, as it can be harmful to your health.
Breaking of your gutter
Water may not seem heavy when you are swimming or bathing in it. However, it becomes heavier in mass if it is allowed to accumulate at a spot. Your gutter is meant to move water away and not store it. A buildup of water can produce too much weight than your gutter can bear.
A pond of water that sits in one area may cause your gutter to break. The breakage in this case is a result of the weight of the water pool and not issues with your gutter itself.
Gutter maintenance
Clogged gutters are going to be a problem for you when rainstorms cause heavy downpours in your region. Your gutter may get damaged if it is not sturdy enough to bear these agents of climate change. In some instances, the damage may be seen in the basement of your house because the gutter leads water there.
Therefore, you will be tasked to always look after your gutter frequently. Regular maintenance and cleaning will be required to minimize or prevent the effects of climate change on your gutters. Your gutter should be regularly maintained to avoid damage to your property.
Conclusion
The climatic condition of the earth will continue to change, even if people are trying to stop it. These effects can and will be felt by your gutters. To mitigate the effect of climate change on your home, ensure that you regularly inspect and maintain your gutter system. You can get your gutters inspected by Born Carpentry. In Andover, MN, contact Born Carpentry by calling 612-747-8003.
