Your home's gutters are a very important part of the house itself; these keep rainwater from pooling around a home's foundation, which potentially causes cracks and water damage. You may not give much thought to the gutters on the home and may only consider replacing them when they actually break away from the roof, but this is not the only sign that it's time to replace them. Note a few signs that many homeowners overlook when it comes time to get new gutters, so you know your home is always in good repair and protected from water damage.

Flooded basement

When your home's basement floods, you may immediately start looking for cracks in the basement walls or windows. This is often the cause of such flooding, but those cracks can be the result of gutters that need replacing. When the gutters have holes or are pulling away from their connectors and they allow water to pool around the home's foundation, this can result in basement leaks. Once you get the basement floods cleaned up and inspect the basement walls for leaks, inspect the gutters for needed repair or replacement.

Unhealthy landscaping

If have shrubbery, flowerbeds, or other landscaping that doesn't seem to thrive and is always brown and wilted, you can check the soil conditions and if you're tending to them properly for their variety or species. However, you might also check the gutters above them. When gutters are leaking or damaged and allow water to spill over, this water gets absorbed by the soil and, in turn, the landscaping in that area can wilt. You might dig up some soil in that area and then in another area of your lawn and compare; if the soil under your landscaping feels more moist and damp, this can mean water is collecting there because of old gutters that need replacing.

Bent gutters

Gutters that are bent will allow water to spill over during a rainstorm versus directing it to downspouts. While you might assume you can simply bend the gutters back into shape, note that this often means that you get too much rain in your area for the gutters to manage and they get bent under that weight. Chances are that they'll simply bend out of shape again if this is the case. Rather than trying for a quick fix, invest in larger or wider gutters that can more readily manage the amount of rain, snow, and other such weather for your area.