All About Roofing

Many people are looking for a solution to prevent their gutters from ever getting clogged. There are many opinions floating around as to whether gutter guards, in all their shapes and designs, really work or not. We will address this question head on.

The problem is that debris, decaying matter, and mud has the tendency to build up in gutters when they are not cleaned.

Covering the tops of the gutter with a metal, plastic, sponge insert, or mesh doesn't prevent this from happening. We receive many calls where customers have us come out to uninstall the gutter guards they had recently put in because they cause additional problems.

We find that the small openings in the gutter guards clog faster, allowing water to rush right over the guards, creating a waterfall effect. This creates holes from the force of the water when it impacts the ground and lots of noise in the middle of the night. Also, having water puddles form near your foundation is not a good idea.

Gutters generally have a 2 inch opening on the downspout that is designed to assist in allowing water and debris to flow away from the house. This process continues to work over a period of time until the flow of water can't keep up with the amount of debris in the gutter. At this point gutter cleaning is the only solution.

Based on our experience, there is nothing that prevents a gutter from ever needing to be cleaned. Placing foreign objects in the downspout or covering the gutters is not a viable solution.