All-Pro Gutter Installation Team
25+ years of gutter expertise in Houston, TX • Published 2026-01-05
Before Houston's storm season ramps up, walk your gutter system through five checks: clear all debris, flush every downspout, verify the pitch, test the hangers, and confirm where the water discharges. The whole checkup takes about 30 minutes from the ground and a ladder — and it's the cheapest insurance you'll buy all year.
Houston's most intense rainfall typically arrives between April and October, with hurricane season officially running June 1 through November 30. The National Weather Service puts Houston's average annual rainfall above 50 inches, and a large share of it falls in violent bursts — severe storms here can drop rain at rates up to 4 inches per hour. A gutter system with a hidden clog or a loose hanger will pass a sunny-day glance and fail in the first real storm, dumping that water against your slab. Spring is when you find those problems on your schedule instead of the weather's. For the full year-round plan, see our seasonal gutter maintenance checklist; this is the condensed pre-storm version.
The 5-Point Spring Checkup at a Glance
| # | Check | What You're Looking For | Fix If It Fails |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Debris in gutters | Leaves, oak tassels, pine needles, seed pods, roof grit | Clean thoroughly or book a professional cleaning |
| 2 | Downspout flow | Hose water exits the bottom within seconds | Flush at pressure; disassemble if the clog holds |
| 3 | Gutter pitch | No standing water after the hose is off | Rehang or adjust the low section |
| 4 | Hangers and mounting | No gaps at the fascia, no wobble under gentle pressure | Tighten or replace hangers before storm season |
| 5 | Downspout discharge | Water lands 4+ feet from the foundation | Add or reposition extensions; test pop-up emitters |
1. Why Clear Debris in Spring If I Cleaned in Fall?
Because Houston trees don't follow the national calendar. Live oaks drop the bulk of their leaves in spring, not fall — followed by a heavy shower of pollen tassels that mat into a dense sludge in gutter troughs. Add pine needles, sweetgum seed pods, and everything winter winds delivered, and a gutter cleaned in November can be half full by April.
What to do: clean every run, paying special attention to roof valleys, where converging water concentrates debris into plugs. If the debris has composted into heavy muck, or your home is two stories, this is the point where a professional cleaning — typically $150-$300 for a two-story home — beats a ladder afternoon. Not sure the DIY math works for you? We wrote an honest comparison in DIY vs. professional gutter cleaning.
2. How Do I Know If a Downspout Is Clogged?
A gutter full of leaves is visible. A clogged downspout is invisible — until a storm, when water backs up the pipe, fills the gutter, and pours over the edge in sheets. Downspout clogs usually sit at the top elbow or the bottom bend, where wet debris wedges tight.
What to do: run a garden hose into each downspout from the top. Water should exit the bottom within seconds at full flow. If it backs up or trickles, flush at higher pressure; if the clog holds, the downspout needs to be disassembled at the elbows and cleared. Our step-by-step guide to unclogging a downspout walks through it. While you're down there, confirm the outlet strainers (if fitted) aren't matted over with tassels.
3. What Does Bad Gutter Pitch Look Like?
Gutters must slope subtly toward their downspouts. Over time, Houston's expansive clay soil works against this: the wet-swell, dry-shrink cycle moves foundations, which moves fascia boards, which moves gutters. Add loosening hangers and the weight of debris-laden water, and runs develop low spots where water sits.
What to do: run a hose into each gutter and watch from the ground — water should move steadily toward the downspout. After you shut the hose off, look again: standing water means a low spot. Stains, tiger-striping, or a visible sag along the gutter face are the ground-level giveaways. Standing water is more than an overflow risk; it breeds mosquitoes and accelerates corrosion. The fix is usually rehanging a section — details in our gutter pitch and slope guide.
4. How Do I Check Hangers Before Storm Season?
A gutter that's merely loose in April can tear off in a June squall. Wind events work fasteners loose, and any fascia movement from soil shift compounds it. A rain-filled gutter is heavy — every weak hanger is carrying more than it was installed to carry.
What to do: walk the perimeter and look for gaps between the gutter's back edge and the fascia board, visible screw heads backing out, or sections that sag between supports. On a ladder, push gently upward and outward at several points — solid is the only acceptable answer. Wobble means hangers need tightening or replacing now, while it's a cheap gutter repair instead of storm damage. If sections are pulling away in multiple places, that's one of the classic signs gutters need replacement rather than another patch.
5. Where Does Your Water Actually Go?
The system only works if the water ends up somewhere safe. In Houston's clay soil, downspouts discharging at the slab edge feed the moisture swings that crack foundations — the most expensive "gutter problem" there is, and it happens with perfectly clean gutters.
What to do: confirm every downspout has an extension carrying water at least 4 feet from the foundation, aimed away from the house and from your neighbor's slab. Kicked-off or crushed extensions are the most common finding of the entire checkup. If you have underground drainage, run a hose into each downspout and confirm the pop-up emitters open and flow — buried lines can silently fill with sediment over winter. Our downspout placement guide covers where the water should land and why.
What Should I Do If the Checkup Finds a Problem?
Triage by severity, and let the calendar drive urgency — you're working against the start of storm season, not a someday list:
- Fix immediately (before the next storm): clogged downspouts, gutters pulling off the fascia, and missing downspout extensions. Each of these turns ordinary rain into concentrated water against your slab.
- Fix within a few weeks: low spots and pitch problems, seeping seams, and a single failing hanger in an otherwise solid run. These worsen with every storm cycle but aren't yet dumping water where it hurts.
- Plan and budget: widespread hanger failure, fascia rot behind the gutters, or corrosion showing through the finish. Patching a system in this condition through another Houston storm season usually costs more than deciding once — our repair-or-replace framework walks through that call.
Should I Also Get a Professional Inspection?
If you're not comfortable on a ladder, or it's been more than a year since a trained eye looked at your system, spring is the time. A professional inspection covers everything above, plus the items homeowners can't easily evaluate: fascia board condition behind the gutter, joint and sealant integrity, gutter guard condition, drip edge alignment, and signs of pest activity. Thirty minutes of inspection in April routinely prevents an emergency call in June — and emergency work during a named storm is neither cheap nor fast to schedule.
Once the checkup is done, take the next step and read our hurricane gutter preparation guide so the system you just tuned up is ready for the worst week of the season, not just the first one.
Want it handled in one visit? Contact us for a free inspection — we'll clean, test, and tell you exactly where your system stands before the radar lights up.