Your gutters are not working if water spills over the front or behind them in a normal rain, they sag or pull away, there is water pooling at the foundation, or the fascia and siding below are stained, peeling or soft. Most of these start with a clog and are fixed by cleaning, but some mean repair or replacement.
By the Roofing & Gutter Ethics team. Updated November 2026.
Check them in the rain
The best test is to walk around the house during a steady rain. Working gutters fill and drain quietly, and water comes out the bottom of every downspout. Watch for water sheeting over the front lip, dripping behind the gutter, or leaking at the corners and seams.
The warning signs
- Overflow over the front. Usually a clog in the gutter or downspout. Fix: cleaning.
- Water dripping behind the gutter. Often missing or misplaced drip edge, or a gutter pulled away from the fascia. Fix: repair.
- Sagging between hangers. Loose hangers, rotted fascia, or weight from debris and ice. Fix: rehang, and replace the fascia if it is soft.
- Standing water. The pitch is off. Fix: re-pitching.
- Leaking seams and corners. Failing sealant on sectional gutter. Fix: reseal, or replace with seamless.
- Stains, peeling paint or rot on the fascia. Water has been spilling for a while. Fix: fascia repair plus cleaning.
- Pooling at the foundation, eroded beds, a damp basement. Downspouts dumping too close to the house. Fix: extensions or underground drainage.
- Plants growing in the gutter. It has been full for a long time.
- Ice along the eave in winter. Gutters that could not drain going into winter.
Rather not climb the ladder? We clear every trough by hand, flush every downspout and send photos of the whole roofline.
Book a gutter cleaningClean, repair or replace?
Most problems start with a clog, so a cleaning is the first step and costs the least. Repair makes sense when the gutter is sound but loose, mis-pitched or leaking in a few places. Replacement makes sense when the gutter is sectional and leaking at many seams, badly dented, rusted through, or too small to handle the roof. Our crew will tell you which one it is and show you the photos.