Rainfall along with snow and ice over winter have done their best to cause damage to your roof and drainage system. It is important that you take time this spring to inspect and make repairs to any roof, shingle, gutter, and framing damage that can occur. Here are some tips that you can use in your yard spring cleaning and maintenance to get your roof in great shape for spring.

Clear Out Gutter Drainage

Your roof has just made it through a long winter of icy storms and hard winds that will cause a build-up of debris to collect within the gutter system. Your roof's gutters are important to be kept clear of clogs, which form from leaves, twigs, and other debris that blows and flows into them. 

If you can safely access your roof's edge, you can complete an inspection of the gutters and clean them out of debris and dirt. Otherwise, contact a roofing professional or gutter service. When this type of material is left to settle into their interior, it will cause a clog to form that won't allow proper drainage onto the soil below. This can leave your roof prone to moisture damage and ice damage with ice dam formation. Then, your gutters will become heavy with debris, which will bend their proper slope and even pull them away from the edge of your roof.

Use a spade, small shove, gutter cleaning tool, or another implement to dig out debris that is within the gutters, collecting it within a bucket or other trash container. Follow the perimeter of your roof to clean out all areas of your gutter, especially the downspout connection points, which can get clogged with loosened debris. Use your garden hose to clear any downspout blockages or use the help of a plumber auger to clear out stubborn clogs. Make sure the downspouts are installed with a diverter to push rainfall out away from your home's foundation.

Check Your Roof's Condition

Once you have completed maintenance and checked up on your gutters and downspouts, you can move onto checking the roof and the shingles. Your shingles should all be visibly flat and not show any curling up at their edges or have crooked and loose shingles. If you have any missing shingles, contact a roofing professional to repair the missing shingles and to inspect the roof deck for moisture damage that may have occurred while the shingles were missing. 

Your roofer can also check the flashing and drip edges along with any openings on your roof, including vents, chimneys, or skylights. These areas can be prone to moisture leaking into your home when they are damaged by weather. Talk to a roofing company for more information.