Feelings on Gutter Guards
From someone who cleans roofs and on occasion cleans the interior side of gutters I don’t know how I feel about gutter guards. They sound like the perfect solution….no more climbing ladders or hiring someone to scoop out leaves, sticks, and pine cones, right? Well, here’s the catch if you don’t keep those guards clear, all that debris just piles up on top, turning into a compost heap that eventually oozes down the face your gutters, making them dirtier even faster! Before gutter guards, at least the mess stayed inside the gutters. Now, not only do you still have to clean them, but you also get the bonus task of scrubbing the gutter faces. So… remind me again, what was the point of these things?
Before gutter guards your gutters slowly filled up with debris over time. Eventually your gutters got clogged up and/or debris started to overflow the top of your gutters letting you know they needed to be cleaned out. Gutter cleaning was most likely a once or twice per year job depending on your surrounding tree cover.
After gutter guards the roof debris now pile on top of the gutter guards. It gives the appearance that your gutters are full. Now instead of cleaning out gutters once or twice per years you find yourself climbing up that ladder once or twice per month to clear off the tops of the gutter guards.
Opinions are like ass holes. But I do not see the benefit of gutter guards installed on homes especially roofs that have significant tree canopies that drop excessive debris onto your roof. With gutter guards you are now scaling a ladder more frequently subject your life to danger more often than had your not had them to begin with.
Spray tip update: There is a gutter helmet system I saw on a customers home that was a solid sloped cover that did not allow any debris into the gutter chamber. I could not see inside to confirm if its was keeping out roof granules or smaller bits of common roof debris. The sloped helmet system “appeared” to be shedding or allowing roof debris to naturally wash off the roof with rain and wind. I still strongly feel all gutter guard systems are trash.
