After the Storm: What to Check Around Your Home (and What to Leave to the Pros)
Sep 27, 2026 · @Ivan Kim
The storm's gone, the wind finally died down, and now you're looking out the window wondering what it did to your house. Maybe you heard something hit the siding around 2am. Maybe the gutters were roaring like a waterfall all night. Or maybe everything looks fine and you just want to be sure.
Most of the time the damage isn't dramatic. It's not a tree through the roof or a flooded living room. It's the small stuff: gutters packed with leaves and shingle grit, a film of grime on the windows, branches scattered all over the yard, and mud splashed halfway up the siding.
The small stuff is worth catching early, though. Here in Newport we get it all. Nor'easters, summer thunderstorms, the tail ends of hurricanes, and winter storms that dump rain one day and ice the next. Each one leaves something behind. A clogged gutter today can mean water in your basement next month. A little mildew on the north side of the house turns into a big green stain by spring.
This guide walks you through what to check after a storm, why it matters, what you can handle yourself, and what's better left to someone with a ladder and the right gear. Grab a coffee, put on some boots, and let's take a look.
Step 1: Make sure it's safe before you start
It's tempting to run outside the second the rain stops. Give it a little time. A lot of storm injuries happen during cleanup, not during the storm itself. Before you grab the rake, work through this list:
- 1Look for downed power lines. Stay at least 30 feet away from any line on the ground, even one that looks dead. Don't touch anything it's lying on, like a fence or a puddle. Call your utility company and let them handle it.
- 2Check for hanging branches. Look up before you walk under any tree. A limb that's cracked but still up can drop without warning, especially if the wind picks back up.
- 3Stay off the roof and ladders. Shingles, gutters, and ladder rungs are slick after rain. If you need to see the roof, do it from the ground with binoculars or your phone's zoom.
- 4Watch where you step. Wet leaves on a walkway are about as slippery as ice. Mud hides holes, nails, and broken glass.
- 5Take photos before you clean anything. Get wide shots of each side of the house plus close-ups of any damage. Your phone stamps the date. If you end up filing an insurance claim, these photos help a lot.
- 6Smell for gas. If you smell gas near your meter or inside, leave the house and call the gas company from outside.
Once you've done all that, you're ready to look the house over.
Step 2: Walk around the house
Do a slow lap around your home, starting at the front door and going clockwise. Bring your phone for photos and a notepad or notes app to jot down what you find. Here's what to look at and what to do about it.
Gutters and downspouts
Gutters take the biggest beating in a storm. Wind drives leaves, pine needles, twigs, and shingle grit into them, and heavy rain packs it all down.
What to look for:
- Water spilling over the edges, gutters sagging or pulling away from the fascia, downspouts that aren't draining, and puddles or washed-out soil near the foundation.
What to do:
- 1Stand back and watch a downspout during the next rain, or run a hose into the gutter. If water shoots over the side, there's a clog.
- 2Clear any debris at the bottom of each downspout and around the drain opening on the ground.
- 3Make sure downspout extensions point away from the house and push water at least 4 to 6 feet out.
- 4Note any gutter sections that sag or have pulled loose. Those need to be reattached before winter.
Roof line
You don't need to go up there to learn a lot.
What to look for:
- Missing or lifted shingles, bare spots, branches or piles of debris sitting on the roof, and granules collecting at the bottom of downspouts (that's shingle wear).
What to do:
- 1Walk all four sides and look up with binoculars or your phone zoomed in.
- 2Photograph anything that looks off.
- 3Check your attic or top floor ceilings for water stains or damp spots.
- 4If you see missing shingles or active leaks, call a roofer. Don't wait for the next storm.
Siding and trim
What to look for:
- Mud splashed up from the ground, green or black streaks, loose or cracked panels, and peeling paint on trim.
What to do:
- 1Rinse off fresh mud with a garden hose before it dries and bakes on.
- 2Push gently on any panel that looks loose. If it moves, note it for repair.
- 3Look closely at the shady side of the house. That's where mildew shows up first.
Windows and screens
What to look for:
- A gritty or hazy film, salt spray if you're close to the water, torn screens, and water getting in around the frames.
What to do:
- 1Check inside window sills for water. Wipe them dry.
- 2Pull out any torn or bent screens and set them aside.
- 3Hold off on scrubbing salty windows with a dry cloth. Salt and grit act like sandpaper and can scratch the glass.
Yard, trees, and landscaping
What to look for:
- Fallen branches, piles of leaves, uprooted plants, and anything that blew in from the neighbors.
What to do:
- 1Pick up small branches and sticks first so you can see what else is going on.
- 2Rake leaves off the lawn. A wet mat of leaves left for a couple of weeks can smother the grass underneath.
- 3Pile larger limbs in one spot for pickup or removal.
- 4Clear leaves out of window wells and away from basement doors and dryer vents.
Driveway, walkways, deck, and patio
What to look for:
- Mud, wet leaves, standing water, and debris piled in corners.
What to do:
- 1Sweep walkways and steps so nobody slips.
- 2Push standing water off the deck with a broom.
- 3Clear leaves out of the gaps between deck boards so water can drain.
Why it's worth dealing with now
It's easy to look at a few leaves in the gutter and think you'll get to it in the spring. We get it. But storm leftovers have a way of turning into bigger problems, and fall into winter is when that happens fastest.
Clogged gutters send water where it shouldn't go. A gutter's whole job is to carry water off the roof and away from your foundation. When it's clogged, water spills straight over the edge and soaks the ground right next to the house. That water finds cracks in the foundation and shows up in your basement. It can also rot the fascia boards the gutters are attached to. Once the temperatures drop, that same water freezes in the gutter and creates ice dams, which push water back up under your shingles.
Wet debris breeds mildew and algae. Leaves stuck against siding or sitting on the roof hold moisture for days. That's exactly what mildew and algae need. It starts as a light green film and turns into dark streaks that are a lot harder to remove. On a roof, those black streaks are usually algae, and it slowly shortens the life of your shingles.
Salt and grime eat at surfaces. If you live anywhere near the water, storm winds carry salt spray inland. It dries on your windows, siding, and outdoor furniture as a hazy film. Salt is corrosive. It dulls glass, stains painted surfaces, and speeds up rust on metal fixtures. The longer it sits, the harder it is to get off.
Small problems get bigger in cold weather. Water gets into small cracks, freezes, expands, and makes the cracks bigger. A loose piece of siding that's a quick fix in October can let in enough water to cause real damage by January. A gutter that's already sagging under wet leaves can pull right off the house under a load of ice.
It's cheaper to catch things early. A gutter cleaning or a softwash costs a fraction of what a basement water cleanup, fascia replacement, or early roof replacement does. Spending an hour or two now, or making one phone call, can save you a lot of money and a lot of stress later.
Step 3: Decide what to do yourself and what to hand off
Go back to the notes from your walkaround and sort each item into one of two piles.
Things most people can handle:
- Picking up sticks and small branches
- Raking leaves and bagging them
- Sweeping walkways, steps, and the deck
- Rinsing fresh mud off the lower part of the siding with a hose
- Clearing debris from downspout openings you can reach from the ground
- Wiping down the inside of window sills
Things better left to a pro:
- Anything that needs a ladder, especially on a two-story house
- Cleaning gutters, since you're up high, leaning, and handling wet, heavy debris
- Washing siding or a roof that has mildew or algae streaks. A pressure washer can strip paint, crack siding, and force water behind panels. Softwashing uses low pressure and the right cleaners to do it safely.
- Cleaning salty or heavily grimed windows, especially upstairs
- Hauling away big limbs, broken furniture, or waterlogged stuff from the garage or basement
- Any roof repair
A good rule: if you'd have to ask someone to hold the ladder, call someone instead.
Step 4: Get ready for the next one
Storm season around here doesn't end after one storm. Once you're cleaned up, a few small things now make the next cleanup a lot easier.
- 1Keep gutters clear through the fall. Leaves keep dropping into November. Plan on a cleaning after most of the leaves are down, not just after the first storm.
- 2Trim branches near the house. Any limb hanging over the roof or within a few feet of the siding is a future problem. Trimming now keeps it from coming down on your house later.
- 3Store or tie down loose items. Patio furniture, grills, planters, trash cans, and kids' toys all become flying objects in high wind.
- 4Check your sump pump. If you have one, pour a bucket of water in the pit and make sure it kicks on.
- 5Keep a small storm kit. Flashlights, batteries, a phone charger that doesn't need an outlet, and a few jugs of water.
- 6Save a number to call. It's a lot easier to book help before a storm than to scramble afterward when everyone else is calling too.
When to call us
If your walkaround turned up more than you want to handle, that's what we're here for. After a storm, most of our Newport neighbors call us for a few things.
- Gutter cleaning. We clear out the gutters and downspouts, bag the debris, and check that water is flowing the right way again. If we spot a section that's sagging or pulling loose, we'll let you know.
- Yard cleanup. Branches, leaves, and whatever the wind dragged in. We rake, bag, and haul it away so you don't have to fill your car with yard waste.
- Softwashing. We take the grime, mildew, and algae off siding, roofs, decks, and fences using low pressure and cleaners made for the job. It gets things clean without blasting paint off or forcing water behind your siding.
- Window washing. Inside and out, upstairs and down. We clear off the salt haze and storm film so you can actually see out again.
- Junk removal. Broken patio furniture, waterlogged boxes from the basement, a fence section that came down. If it's in the way, we'll take it.
We've taken care of more than 10,000 homes around Newport, and we'd be happy to take a look at yours. You don't need to have everything figured out before you call. Just tell us what you're seeing and we'll help you sort out what needs doing now and what can wait.
Book a job or give us a call at (401) 337-8813.
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