How To Maintain your Home During The Rainy Season

We all know the rhyme, “April showers bring May flowers!” but what happens when April showers bring something more malicious than a bunch of tulips? Sometimes April showers can bring something along the lines of wood rot and flooded gutters, which could cost you a lot of money in repairs! Luckily, you can do these maintenance tips now to ensure your gutters won't flood and your roof stays rot-free. Use this preventative maintenance to make sure your April showers bring flowers instead of floods. 

Need more maintenance tips for spring? Check out Landmark's spring maintenance tips checklist here!

Clean Out Gutters and Repair

Gutters are an important part of flood prevention. Gutters and downspouts have one goal: move excess water away from your home’s roof and siding and deposit it somewhere that won’t leak into your basement.

Gutters need to be cleaned out twice a year, during fall and spring. Twigs, leaves, and blossoms can all fall into gutter lines and clog the gutters and downspouts. If you don't clean when a big spring rain comes and they flood, the excess water can leak into your roof, which can cause wood rot and cost you thousands of dollars in repairs.

You can also purchase a mesh screen to put on the top of your gutters to stop leaves, twigs, and dirt from building up in them. While you are cleaning out your gutter, make sure there are no leaks, loose pipes or peeling paint on your gutters. If there are, it may be a good idea to call a gutter repair company.

You should also ensure that your downspouts are draining away from your home and not puddling in your yard or around your foundation. If you do have puddles around your home, or the ground around your foundation is soggy, there could be a possibility of that water soaking into the ground around your home and flooding your basement. If you notice this is happening in your yard, check your gutters and downspouts by flowing them with water from a garden hose and see if they are causing the problem. You may want to get a landscaper out to reshape your yard and create a place for the water to pool away from your foundation.

Trim Trees and Branches

This maintenance goes hand in hand with cleaning out your gutters. Winter can be hard on trees and branches. Give them a trim before any of the big spring rains hit to help them to grow and make sure broken and dying twigs and leaves don’t get caught in the gutters.

Ensure Windows, Vents Aren't Leaking

Before spring rains come crashing down on your roof, it’s a good idea to go up into your attic and make sure there are no signs of leaks. You can tell there are leaks in your roof if there are puddles, condensation, water stains, or a mold/ mildew smell. If you do have leaks, you have a Landmark Home Warranty with the Roof Repair coverage add-on, you should call Landmark to open a claim. If the leak was caused by rain and normal wear and tear and developed since you purchased the protection plan, it will be covered by the home warranty. A home warranty doesn't cover roof leaks that are caused by not maintaining your roof, like cleaning out the gutters or downspouts, however.  

It’s also a good idea to check the caulking on your vents and windows to make sure there are no leaks to the inside of your home.

Make sure Your Home Insurance Covers Flooding

Homeowner protection plans like home insurance usually cover rain damage (damaged caused by rain that seeps into your home from the roof, windows, or doors) but it doesn’t cover flooding (water that comes into the home from the bottom up). If you are worried about flooding, you can call your home insurance company to see if you can add flooding coverage, or purchase coverage from a  flood insurance company.

Home insurance also limits coverage on your sewer backing up, which can happen if heavy rains move from the storm water system into the sewer. Call your home insurance company to see if there are any additions on sewer back up coverage to protect your home.

Home Warranties can Protect Your Home and Budget If you Do Proper Maintenance

Protect your home's systems and appliances this spring with a home warranty. Home warranties protect your home and budget by covering systems and appliances that fail from wear and tear unexpectedly. You can cover your heating and cooling comfort systems, as well as your plumbing and electrical systems with a Landmark Home Warranty. Although Landmark doesn't cover gutters and downspouts, you can purchase roof leak repair as an add-on to your contract to protect from rain damage to your home's roof. Learn more about Landmark's coverage at www.landmarkhw.com/home-warranty-plans.