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Green Gutter Slime: Stop The Streaks

Aerial View

Green gutter slime is notorious in the Pacific Northwest. It’s not caused by your roof or anything you’re doing wrong. It’s actually created by your gutter system and how your roof was put together. Oftentimes, a downspout is all you need. Here are some things you should know about green gutters and downspouts.

Moss Shingle

Let’s say you have a home that has a beautiful roof and a dormer that sticks out. It makes the house look really nice. Well, when it’s time to install the gutters on your new home, these gutter guys install them in places where they don’t need to. It’s not because they are trying to get more money, they just think that everywhere water drips require a gutter.

These gutter guys will put gutters on the dormer and rather than connect it to the lower gutters with a downspout, they’ll cut the backsides and allow the water to run down the roof where it would’ve dripped anyway. The gutters weren’t even necessary to get this same effect, and now you have water constantly running down your roof.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, your problem amplifies with the green gutter slime that’s running down along with the water. Even if you don’t have trees above your house, you’re still going to grow algae in your gutters because of our climate conditions. If we stood still long enough, we’d grow slime!

Because of algae, the water gets backed up and continually drips down your roof, even on a dry, sunny day. So no matter how clean the roof is, you’re getting that green slime trail because of all the dirt and debris dripping from your gutters onto your roof. This is where green gutters happen and downspouts come into play.

Roof Life of Oregon will have a few solutions for you. If you are re-roofing, we might coach you to get the gutters completely off that dormer. If it’s a low enough dormer and the water’s not dripping that far, we might put a nice fascia board up there, have it painted, and let the water drip since it’s running there anyway.

If it’s a roof that can be maintained, maybe we refer you to one of the local gutter companies that we love who can correct the issue by capping off the end of the gutters. They’ll put some downspouts down the side of your dormers, let them into the gutter, and stop that dripping on your roof.

Don’t settle for green slime on your beautiful roof. Call Roof Life of Oregon at (503) 461-2665 and let us diagnose your problem with a free inspection.

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