Gutters and downspouts do their work outside, where a hired aide's indoor routine usually does not reach. That gap is where a clogged gutter becomes water at the foundation, a stain on an inside wall, or a soft strip of yard that nobody noticed until it was large. This guide covers who owns the outside of the house, what to put in writing before the first shift, and how to ask an agency about outside work during a tour.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Name the owner of each outside task

Write one line for each task: clearing leaves from gutters, checking that every downspout empties away from the house, moving the downspout extension after mowing, clearing the yard drain grate, and walking the lower wall after heavy rain. Beside each line, name one owner. The owner may be a family member, a neighbor by agreement, a property maintenance contractor, or the agency. Two names on one line usually means nobody owns the task.

Read the agency scope for outside work

Most in-home non-medical services are written around the indoor routine. Ask the agency to show, in writing, whether any exterior work is in scope at all. Ask:

  • Does the aide go outside the house for any task, including carrying trash to the curb or checking a downspout?
  • Is any ladder work included, and if not, who is called instead?
  • Who decides that a drain problem needs a contractor, and who approves the call?
  • Who is told first when the aide sees water, staining, or a sagging gutter, and how is that report made?

Compare the answers across agencies. A clear written line on each point is worth more than a broad statement that the agency handles household needs.

Keep ladder work with the owner or a contractor

Ladder work does not belong in a caregiver's shift. Before the first visit, the family should decide who climbs, who holds the ladder if anyone does, and who is responsible if a gutter needs repair. Put that decision on the same page as the scope sheet so the aide, the agency office, and the family all read the same rule.

Walk the drain route after heavy rain

After a storm, the owner or a designated family member should walk the route from each downspout to the yard edge. Look for water pooling within a few feet of the foundation, water standing in window wells, staining on inside walls near outside corners, and damp spots in a basement or crawl space if the house has one. Record what you see with the date and time on a household log. The walk is for noticing and reporting. Repairs go to the owner or the contractor named on the list.

Spread the checks across the year

Set one visual walk of the downspouts at the start of each spring and each fall, with a planned gutter clearing on the same visit. Add a drain route walk after any storm that brings heavy rain. Put each entry on the shared household calendar with the owner's name beside it. A check with no name attached tends to be skipped.

Ask about drainage that leaves the lot

When water runs toward the street, a neighbor's lot, or a public sidewalk, the question is no longer only about the household. For those cases, the city or county public works office is the general place to ask, and the local building or code office can explain which rules apply to your address. Ask the agency office whether it has handled a drainage question with those offices before, and what the usual route was.

Plan for a thin local market

If the usual outside contractor is booked for weeks, the outside list needs a backup name before the storm season, not during it. Finding help where the supply is thinnest on this site explains how to build that backup list when the local market is small.

Keep the outside list in the household file beside the indoor routine, so the aide, the agency office, and the family all work from the same page.