Why Do Clean Gutters Still Overflow When It Rains?

Gutter systems provide essential protection for your home. They ensure that rainwater won’t collect on your roof by providing a channel through which water is drained safely away from your home. Ultimately, this helps prevent water from causing leaks and damaging not just your roof but your home’s foundation and basement too.

Needless to say, your seamless gutters should be in good condition in order to function properly and serve their purpose. Regular gutter cleaning is key to maintaining the optimal performance of your gutter system. It prevents leaves and debris from accumulating inside your gutters and potentially blocking the flow of water out of the system.

Oftentimes, clogging results in overflowing gutters. But if your gutters are clean and they still overflow when it’s raining, you will likely have to address a completely different issue.

In this post, Barry Best Seamless Gutters discusses four common reasons why clean gutters can overflow. We also share some solutions that will help you fix your gutter problems.

Amount of Rainfall

A huge downpour can cause your gutters to overflow. Generally, if your streets are starting to flood, your gutters are likely dealing with an excessive amount of rainwater. In this case, there’s really nothing you can do to keep your gutters from overflowing — it just simply is beyond anyone’s control. 

Of course, it’s not always easy to determine exactly how much rainfall your gutters can handle. And in such a situation, you may be unsure whether the overflow from your gutters is to be expected due to the amount of rain or it’s caused by a problem with the system. To help you get a sense of how much rain your gutters would be handling, you can look up the quantity of rainfall in a specific period. In general, two inches of rain in an hour can lead to an overflow in most gutter systems. But two inches of rain over a six-hour period shouldn’t be too much for your gutters to handle.

Blocked Downspouts

If you have recently cleared your gutters of leaves, twigs and other debris but they are still overflowing, you might want to check your downspouts. It’s possible for the downspouts to clog up as well. So if you failed to clean these components, your downspouts could be the culprit behind the overflow.

To see if your downspouts are the source of the problem, you can test your drains using a hosepipe. If the water fails to go through, it’s likely that your downspouts are clogged with debris. Make sure to clean them out and retest using the hose — do this until the downspouts are clear. Alternatively, you may also want to consider swapping out your old downspouts for new ones with a larger circumference. Of course, consult with experts before replacing your downspouts. It’s best to have the components checked by professionals before making any changes to the system.

Inadequate Downspouts

If your gutters are overflowing even with just moderate rain, it’s possible that you have an insufficient number of downspouts installed or you don’t have downspouts set up on all sides of your home. The solution to this is simple: add more downspouts so that water can be drained away more quickly. Experts should be able to determine a good number of downspouts for your home, so make sure to work with professionals when resolving this issue.

Pitch of Roof

Every roof system is unique, with different dimensions and angles. That’s why it’s important for your contractor to figure out the area of the roof that needs to be drained and the pitch of the roof in that particular area.

Generally, a larger roof area with a higher pitch will cause rain to enter your gutter system at a faster rate. However, take note that the pitch of the roof should be just right so that the roof won’t drain too quickly for the gutters to handle.

What You Can Do if Your Clean Gutters Are Overflowing

During gutter installation, a number of variables need to be taken into account in order to ensure the system is designed properly. If there is a problem with the installation and it’s causing the gutters to overflow, one or a combination of any of the following solutions might rectify the issue:

• Adjust the width of the gutters. In some cases, the gutters simply aren’t big enough to handle the amount of rain that your area might be experiencing. It might help if you could upgrade to a wider gutter. Make sure to consult experts before going ahead with this plan since it can sometimes be difficult to tell if adjusting the width of your gutters is what really needs to be done.

• Adjust the pitch of the gutters. Your gutters should have a slight pitch that’s supposed to allow water to flow down toward the downspouts. However, in some cases, gutter installers don’t create a downward pitch if it would compromise curb appeal. So have an expert check the pitch of your gutters to see if they are angled correctly.

• Adjust the tilt of gutters. Make sure this isn’t affecting how your gutters work. But if your contractor sees that the tilt of your gutters is the cause of overflow, they would simply have to make an adjustment and ensure water won’t overflow during a downpour.

• Add more gutters. This is usually recommended if you have several roof areas. By installing additional gutters, the system would be better equipped to handle the excess runoff and the rate at which your roof is draining water.

• Add an L-shaped splash guard. This is also a good option to consider if water from a high-pitched roof area is coming down too fast. 

Hiring a Reliable Contractor

When rectifying the design of your gutter or fixing an issue, you should see to it that you are working with a reputable contractor. Ensure they have a reputation for excellent workmanship so that you can avoid poor installation quality. While the industry has many established companies that can deliver top-notch results, you still need to be cautious and learn as much as you can about the contractor you’re leaning toward hiring.

Check their website and business address, and verify the credentials they claim they have. This way, you can avoid falling victim to unscrupulous businesses who may be cutting corners just so they can offer cheaper and more attractive pricing or finish jobs faster.

Don’t hesitate to ask for references and about gutter projects they’ve done in the past. You can also try to look for customer reviews online. These would be quite helpful in giving you an idea about the quality of service that you can expect from the company.

Get a Free Gutter Replacement Quote Today!

Barry Best Seamless Gutters has been operating for more than 29 years. Consisting of certified and experienced professionals, our team can install seamless gutter and heated gutter systems, gutter protection and awnings. We use only high-quality products and manufacturer-approved installation techniques to ensure excellent workmanship for every project.

Call (315) 697-5000 or fill out our contact form to request a free estimate. We serve customers in Canastota and Syracuse, NY, as well as other nearby areas.