If you have found yourself reading gutter guard reviews then you have probably fallen into the trap of thinking that there is an alternative to having your gutters and downspouts cleaned on a regular basis. Well, if that’s what you are thinking then I’m afraid that you couldn’t be more wrong.
The market is practically bursting with a huge range of gutter guards, and the bottom line is that having the installed is a mistake. It doesn’t matter if you have read a bunch of leaf gutter guards that claim a product is revolutionary or is sure to work, in the end, these reviews are posted out there to deceive you.
The fact that there is a robust market for gutter guards shouldn’t really be all that surprising. These devices claim to do two things that are near and dear to everyone’s heart, they claim to save you a lot of work as well as save you money. That’s why every year more people make the mistake of investing in gutter guards and other types of protective coverings for their gutters. Ironically what they are doing will not save them money, it will end up costing them far more.
If Gutter Guards Worked Why Wouldn’t Everyone Have Them?
The biggest clue that gutter guards don’t work is the fact that every home doesn’t have them. After all, if there really is some magical device that will save you time and money then wouldn’t everyone have one? Of course, they would, but when you look around at the houses around you there’s a good chance that most of them don’t have gutter guards. That’s because they are for lack of a better term, useless. They don’t work, they can actually damage your rain gutters, and they are nothing more than a waste of money.
Want another clue that gutter guards are a waste of money? How about the fact that there are a lot of gutter cleaning companies that are currently in business. If there was an effective way to keep leaves and other debris out of your rain gutters so they would never need to be cleaned, then there would be no need for gutter cleaning companies. But when you look around there are a lot of gutter cleaning companies out there, which is proof that there is a demand for their services, which in turn proves that gutter guards don’t work.
Leaf Guard Reviews
In the spirit of trying to be as unbiased as possible, we’d like to take this opportunity to offer the following leaf gutter guard reviews. These are reviews for a number of different gutter guards, that cover a number of different styles. After reading them you should have a better idea of how gutter guards are supposed to work, and why they really don’t do what they claim that they do.
Shur Flo X Leaf Guard Gutter Protector
This particular gutter guard costs around $214.00 and comes with 200 feet of coverage. It is a type of mesh that goes over the top of your rain gutters, supposedly keeping out any debris. The problem with this type of gutter guard is that it has small holes in it that are designed to allow water to flow through them if it didn’t have these small holes then water would flow right over the gutter, which would basically be like having no rain gutters at all.
There are two primary problems with this type of gutter guard design. First, while the small holes are sufficient to allow a light amount of rain to flow through them into your gutters, during a heavy downpour the amount of water is too much for them to handle. That means that part of the rainwater would be allowed to flow over your rain gutters in an uncontrolled manner, which acts much like having a blockage in your gutters.
The other problem with this type of gutter guard also has to do with the small holes that are a part of its design. While they may keep larger pieces of debris from getting into your gutters, small bits of dirt, bird droppings, insects, and pine needles can still easily make their way past the gutter guard. Which means that they will build up in the gutters and need to be cleaned. So not only is this type of gutter guard ineffective for a number of reasons, it doesn’t even get rid of your need to have to clean your gutters.
Ultra Flo Leaf Guard Gutter Protector for 5″ K-Style Gutters
This gutter guard covers about 100 feet of gutters, and costs around $100, which makes it about the same price per foot as the previous gutter guard system reviewed. It is simple to install and snaps directly into your gutters without damaging the shingles on your roof. Unfortunately, that’s right where the positives end. While it’s easy to install, it’s ultimately ineffective.
The good news is that the larger holes in this type of gutter guard allow water to flow into it at a higher rate, so you don’t really have to contend with water flowing over your gutters. The bad news is that these larger holes allow more debris to get into the gutters, which will cause them to become clogged more quickly. In fact, the holes on this gutter guard system are so large that you might as well have nothing at all there because of the amount of debris that penetrates them. Once again, this is a gutter guard system that is little more than a waste of money.
Frost King VX620 6″x20′ Plastic Gutter Guard
This gutter guard, if you can even call it that, comes in at under $6. The reason that it is so inexpensive is that it is even less effective than most other gutter guard systems. This is a lightweight mess that sits on top of your rain gutters and is very easy to install. Unfortunately, it is also very prone to failing.
As far as gutter guard reviews go, this is a pretty bad one, and that’s saying a lot. The lightweight mess is very flimsy, and debris tends to get stuck on top of it. Given how flimsy it is, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that the mess will easily collapse into the rain gutter when there is enough debris on top of it. Then you have a sudden blockage instead of a slow blockage that would normally occur. That means instead of having time to spot a problem, your rain gutters can suddenly fail catastrophically allowing rain to pour uncontrolled off of your roof.
LeafsOut 5” DIY Micro Mesh Rain Gutter Guard – 6 Inches, Stainless Steel
If your goal is to essentially eliminate all of the positive benefits of your rain gutters, then this is the gutter guard system for you. First, the good news. This is a solid piece of aluminum that is fairly effective at keeping debris out of your gutters. Unfortunately, it accomplishes this by blocking out virtually everything that comes its way, including water. With this type of gutter guard, a good amount of rainwater will likely flow right over them, which means it’s a lot like having no gutter guards at all.
Gutter Guard Cost Is Much Higher Than You May Have Been Led To Believe
It should be pretty obvious by now after reading these rain gutter guard reviews that they are for all intents and purposes useless. So even if they don’t seem to be expensive, would you really want to spend any money at all on something that doesn’t work? Of course, you wouldn’t, and that’s the driving point here. Gutter guards don’t work, which means that any money at all that you spend on them is a waste.
If you make the mistake of buying gutter guards then the initial amount you spend on them will hardly be the last time they end up costing you money. That’s right, on top of being useless gutter guards will continue to cost you money long after you buy them. What you have to remember is that gutter guards don’t work, which means that even when you have them there’s no way you can avoid having to clean your gutters or paying to have someone clean your gutters.
Guess what? It’s going to cost you additional money to pay someone to remove your gutter guards and to put them back on. You can’t blame the gutter cleaning company for this, it’s extra work so they charge you more money.
On top of having to pay to have them removed and then reinstalled whenever you have your gutters cleaned, gutter guards also add weight to your gutters. Added weight puts additional strain on them, which over time will cause them to fail sooner than they normally would. That means paying for a new rain gutter and downspout system, which can be quite expensive.
Having A Professional Clean Your Gutters Gives You The Added Bonus Of Having An Expert Inspect Your Gutter Guards For Potential Problems
Rather than wasting money on something like a gutter guard that doesn’t work, you are much better off investing money in hiring a professional gutter cleaning company. If you have gutter guards you still need to have your gutters cleaned. There’s a chance that you may not need to have them cleaned as frequently, but if you take that chance then you are running the risk of allowing your rain gutters to suffer damage. Rather than taking this chance, and rather than paying for a product that doesn’t work, you are much better off hiring a professional company to come out and clean and inspect your rain gutters on a regular basis.
The biggest benefit you are going to get from hiring a professional isn’t the actual cleaning, it’s their inspection of your gutters. While having them cleaned is definitely worth the money alone, the added benefit of having an expert pair of eyes looking over your gutters is very important. An expert is going to spot things that you, or any other person lacking their training and experience, will not.
That means that they can either repair a small problem before it becomes a big one or at the very least they can warn you about it so you can hire someone else to come out and fix it. Doesn’t that sound like a better use of your money than buying a product that doesn’t even work in the first place?
Take Your Time And Hire The Right Gutter And Downspout Cleaning Company
Having established during the above leaf guard reviews that these types of devices are essentially useless, the next thing you should be thinking about is hiring a professional company to come out and clean and inspect your gutters. When you hire a professional they will go over with you a plan of attack for keeping your gutters and downspouts in great condition, and they can even tell you how frequently you should schedule them to come out.
Given all of the benefits that a professional gutter cleaning company offers, you may be in a rush to go out and hire one. If that’s your instinct then you should take a moment, catch your breath, and be a bit more deliberate in your decision making. You want to hire a professional company to handle your gutter cleaning needs, but you don’t want to hire just any company.
Spending a few minutes today doing just a little bit of research can help to ensure that the company you choose will give you the level of service you deserve. First, make sure that any company you are considering is licensed, bonded, and insured. Then, with that as a starting point you can move on to reading customer reviews. Taking a few minutes to do some research really can make all of the difference when choosing your next rain gutter cleaning company, which means that it is time that is definitely well spent.