You will usually notice it from the kitchen window. After a hard rain there is a sheet of water coming off the edge of the roof where the gutter should be, or a splash of mud at the bottom of the downspout that wasn't there before. Dad will tell you it's nothing. He may be right. Gutters are one of those jobs Mom probably handled without ever calling it a job, so nobody wrote it down, and now the basement wall is damp and the back steps have a little moat.

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Tonight: Read the Water

Wait for the next rain, or go out with a flashlight once the rain has stopped. Stand at the back door and watch the edge of the roof. Water running over the front of the gutter instead of into it means the gutter is full, pitched wrong, or blocked. Water dripping from one spot only usually means a seam has opened or a joint has come apart. Look too for a sag, a section that dips toward the middle like a hammock. That means the hangers have pulled loose from the fascia board.

Then look at the ground. Dark streaks on the siding below a gutter mean water has been running down the wall for a while. Soil or gravel piled at the foot of a downspout means it has been flushing out the same spot for a long time. Write down what you see on the back of an envelope. You will want that list when you call anyone.

Clear the Downspouts From the Ground

Most of the trouble lives in the downspouts, and most of them can be cleared without a ladder. Start at the bottom. Take off the elbow or the bottom section if it screws or snaps off, and push a garden hose up from below while someone watches the top. If the water comes out the top and runs clean, you have cleared the line. If it backs up or comes out only in a trickle, the blockage is higher, and you may need a plumber's snake or a stiff wire with a hook on the end.

Put a bucket under the outlet while you work. That lets you see whether the water is flowing freely or slowing down, and it gives Dad something to watch from the porch while he tells you how it's done. Let him tell you. Half of keeping a house running is letting the person who knows the house say what he thinks is wrong with it.

Decide Who Climbs

Cleaning the gutter itself is the part that needs a ladder, and that is where you settle the question of who does it. Do not decide this on a wet afternoon with the water already in the basement. Decide it now.

Ask yourself a few plain questions. Is there a level spot for the ladder that does not sit on soft ground or a slick walkway? Is there a second person who can foot the ladder and stay within reach? Can the roof edge be reached without leaning far out? If any answer is no, the climb belongs to someone else. A neighbor with a ladder, a handyman, or a gutter service can do it. If you are hiring, compare these things before you agree to anything. Ask whether they clear the downspouts as well as the gutters, whether they carry the debris away in a bag or leave it on the lawn, whether they check the hangers and the seams and tell you in writing what they found, and whether they carry their own liability insurance. Ask them to show you the proof of insurance. A good company will not mind. A company that gets evasive about it has told you something.

Also check whether the company will give you a list of what was done and what was only noticed. A list that says cleaned, rehung two hangers, resealed the seam at the back corner, and recommends the far downspout be replaced later is worth more than a verbal promise that everything is fine.

When to Ask the Doctor First

If Dad has had a dizzy spell, a fall, or a medicine that leaves him unsteady, ask his doctor before he goes up a ladder at all. Tell the doctor exactly what he plans to do, how high, and for how long. The doctor is the one who can say whether the climb is a fair risk for him, and that answer should come from the doctor, not from you or from him at the top of the ladder.

Keep the Gutter Calendar in the Kitchen

The fix for the next wet season is not a bigger ladder. It is a short written list taped inside a cabinet door. Write the months you intend to walk the edge and clear the downspouts, the name of whoever is doing the climbing, and the phone number you would call if the water starts coming over the front. Mom probably carried this in her head. Now it lives on paper, where you can both see it and where the next person in the house can find it.

Good week card: Dad walked the yard with you, pointed at the downspout he said was fine, and then let you run the hose through it anyway.