"Tune-up" can sound like the vague line on a service menu, so here's exactly what ours is: four checks, in order, covering the four ways a structurally sound gutter system quietly stops working. If you're handy and careful on a ladder, you can even run the inspection half yourself.
1. Slope
Water should reach a downspout, not pool mid-run. The check is simple: after a rain (or with a hose), look for standing water. Any pond means the fall toward the downspout has drifted — loosened hangers, a bent section, or a run hung flat on day one. The fix is rehanging that section to restore fall. This is the check most systems fail first, and why it matters more than it looks is its own article.
2. Hangers
Hangers carry the whole water-loaded weight of the run into the fascia. We check that each one is tight, that none have backed out or snapped, and — just as important — that the spacing is right. Runs hung with hangers too far apart sag mid-span under storm load even when every screw is tight. Loose hangers in soft wood are a different conversation: that's a fascia problem wearing a hardware costume.
3. Seams
Every seam, corner, and end cap gets looked at for drips, hairline gaps, and sealant that's gone brittle or lifted. Sound metal with tired sealant gets cleaned back and resealed properly. Fatigued or cracked metal gets flagged honestly — resealing has real limits, and we'd rather tell you than sell you.
4. Downspouts
The exits. Each one gets flushed and checked at the elbows, where clogs actually live, and then we look at where the water lands. A downspout dumping at the slab edge undoes everything above it — an extension carrying discharge past the beds is often the highest-value item on the whole ticket.
Run all four and a sound system goes back to spec, usually in a visit. Book the free estimate and we'll tell you which of the four yours needs.