If you’ve never had rain gutters on your home, you might wonder why some houses have them and others don’t. Gutters are designed to stop the flow of rain from accumulating around your home and causing damage. If you’ve been living without a working gutter, here are four things that can go wrong.

1. Moisture in the Basement

Basements are often regarded as dark, dank places, but you never want a wet cellar. Excess moisture in a basement is a breeding ground for mold and causes wood to rot. To prevent these problems, install a new rain gutter or get a gutter replacement Newberg if yours is old and dilapidated.

2. Erosion and Ruined Landscaping

If you’ve never had a rain gutter, that well-defined rut running through your landscaping probably looks all too familiar. To prevent further erosion and damage to expensive plants, rain gutters are the way to go. With a gutter, you’ll never have to worry about that unsightly line or trying to plant around it.

3. Damage to Siding

While water hitting your siding may not sound like a big deal, it’s what can happen beneath it that’s troublesome. Siding can have small cracks and if water seeps through, decay can start. A rain gutter helps prevent wood rot by diverting water away from your home before damage can occur.

4. Increase in Pests

A home without a rain gutter will have water that pools up around it after a storm. Standing water is very attractive to mosquitoes, cockroaches, termites and even rodents. No one wants these creatures near their home, and rain gutters will prevent standing water in the first place.

Neglecting to install a rain gutter leads to dampness, mold and even structural problems. A call to a reliable gutter company will quickly put your house back in the safe zone.