Water Stains on your Gutter Exterior
We often get asked, “why are there drip stain marks under my gutter?”
In many instances, water damage to your exterior is a serious problem that can be averted, but otherwise it’s just an inevitable part of general wear and tear. In this article we explain a few examples.
Most externally hung gutters will eventually have water run marks on the underside of the outer edge and also on the fascia. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a leak. This drip staining of the gutter exterior, can happen even if your gutters are perfectly hung, and even with correct downpipe placement and a leaf guard in place.
On aluminium and steel gutters that are powder coated, this will become a deep hardwater stain that often cannot be removed. But don’t be alarmed, it doesn’t mean there’s any real structural damage to the gutter, it’s just annoying to look at. Hardwater stains are the build up of waterborne minerals that are left behind after water dries. If you look at a flat surface under a microscope, you’ll see that most flat surfaces are not actually flat; they have tiny little crater like holes. The minerals and dirt in water are stuck inside the little craters when the water dries on the “flat” surface. This creates a hard water stain.
Unfortunately, water can get in to places where we don’t want it to be. Water can drip taper across horizontal surfaces, and even sheet upwards across upward sloping surfaces.
A good example of the phenomenon of water tapering is an ordinary glass of water. We all know that when we are drinking from a glass of water, for some annoying reason, we end up with water underneath the glass and then on the table where we place the glass. This is why coffee tables have coasters. Water finds its way to the underside of the glass bottom. During rainfall some of the water hits the outer lip of your gutter and drips downwards.
Next time it rains, don’t be so worried if your gutters are a little bit moist on the underside, it happens. But that said, there’s a fine line between normal moisture build-up and potential damage.
If you’re experiencing water sheeting or flooding due to blocked gutters, or blocked leaf guard, call us today on 1300 472 976. We have many solutions for overflowing gutters, we can also conduct minor tweaks to existing leaf guards, in order to minimise the issue of water spill-over in guttering. Our Gutter & Fascia Wash service will make the gutters look new again!
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