How to Prevent Roof Leaks

Use a ladder to climb up on your home's roof. If you have a friend available, have them hold the ladder steady while you climb it.

Inspect the shingles on the roof. Look for areas that have any missing, cracked, or damaged shingles. These areas are one of the first places leaks will start. If you see any holes or cracks in the roof where the missing shingles should be, fill in the holes with some silicone caulking material. Replace any shingles that are missing or damaged. If you do not wish to do the work yourself, call a roofing contractor to do the job.

Clean out all of the rain gutters on your home. Put on a pair of work gloves and remove any debris in the gutters or downspouts. If a gutter is clogged, it will often overflow onto areas of the roof, especially if the roof is flat rather than sloped. Standing water on your roof can rot the roofing material quickly. You can use an old broom to help remove the debris, but you probably be better off simply cleaning out all of the rain gutters with your hands.

Check the flashing around the chimney or vents on the roof. Flashing is the plastic border material that wraps around chimneys, vents and ducts. The flashing is usually wrapped around the bottom of the vent or duct, and goes beneath the shingles. Look for flashing that is cracked, chipped, broken in half, or even missing completely. Replace any damaged, missing, or worn flashing. Roofing contractors will also do this for you if you do want to do it yourself.

Go into the attic. Determine if the attic has a musky or mildewy smell to it. If it does, you may have a leak that you may or may not not have found while on the roof. Places sheets of newspaper on the floor of the attic. Water the roof of the house with a garden hose for several minutes, then go into the attic and see which newspaper sheets are wet. You should be able to find the leak from there. Wipe the leaking area dry with a rag, and fill the crack with silicone caulking material.