If you’ve ever been kept up by the steady drip-drip-drip of water in your downspouts, you’ve come to the right place. Check out these simple tips for quieting your downspouts.
You’ve heard stories of the Chinese water torture? It didn’t involve rain gutters, but it probably should have! Trying to sleep, rest or work with the annoying sound of water dripping and trickling through your gutter downspouts can be maddening, even when the noise volume isn’t very high. Thankfully, there are some tricks to dampening this nerve-grating sound.
- Adjust the downspout angle. Many times, the simplest fix for a noisy downspout is to reposition it. By using a spacer or a longer clip to move the bottom of the downspout further away from the house, the water will no longer fall straight down to the bottom of the elbow, but will instead hit the side and trickle down – in a much quieter fashion.
- Swap out the bottom part of the downspout. Removing the metal elbow where your runoff water empties out and replacing it with a similar piece made of vinyl or plastic will do a much better job of muffling sounds, so you’ll hear a faint murmur rather than an echoing metallic clang when the water hits the elbow.
- Insulate the downspout. One of the surest ways to dampen sound is to prevent surface vibrations. This can be accomplished by wrapping foam insulators around your downspout pipe (or using spray foam to do the same thing).
- Absorb the water. In many cases, noisy downspouts are the result of water directly hitting the bottom of the downspout elbow. The trick to quieting down this irritating noise is to attach something to the bottom of the downspout on the inside to absorb the water as it drips or trickles down. This can be achieved by putting a scrubber sponge, a square of artificial turf, a section of shingle or a foam downspout insert into the bottom of the downspout opening.
- Employ rope or downspout chains. This utilizes a different concept: getting water to move down an object situated inside the length of the downspout. Nylon rope works well if you caulk it to the top downspout opening and run it all the way down to the bottom opening. The same results can be reached using a downspout chain, which can actually replace some or all of a gutter. The chain hangs down from the gutter downspout opening, allowing water to trickle down it smoothly and quietly.
Invest in the Best Gutter Covers
Once your noisy downspouts are silenced, you may want to turn your attention to finding the best gutter covers to protect your roof, siding, foundation and landscaping from the problems caused by clogged and overflowing gutters. As one of the best gutter guard companies in the business, Gutter Helmet® can answer all your questions and ensure that your home and roofing system are protected. To find out more about our exceptional gutter protection system, call Gutter Helmet today at (800) 824-3772 to be connected with your local dealer.
