Gutters and Leaf Guards
Your Guide to Roofs and Gutters
Almost every house in this country is equipped with gutters. Gutters are important; they keep rainwater from running off the edge of your roof and down your walls. But gutters without guards get clogged with dirt, debris, and leaves, and need cleaned out at least twice a year.
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Even if you do not have trees on your property, leaves get blown around in the wind and land in your gutters. Seeds, pods, and twigs also contribute to the buildup. Installing a leaf guard on each gutter around your home prevents leaf buildup, and reduces maintenance to once every two or three years.
There are several styles of leaf guards. A guard fits onto the top of your gutter, and has either slots or a fine mesh screen which lets the water run through, but blocks debris from entering the gutter. A third type is made of open cell foam which lets water flow through, but keeps solids out. With all of these, the leaves, seeds, twigs and other debris simply blow away.
Leaf guards are especially valuable in areas where the gutters are hard to reach, such as two-or-three story homes. Climbing tall ladders, or crawling on steeply-pitched roofs can be dangerous. Trying to lean ladders on decks, or near swimming pools is also potentially hazardous. Reaching over patio awnings, even the retractable types, is also difficult. With leaf guards in place, you can choose an optimum time for the minor maintenance that still remains to be done. You won’t need to be on the roof in a thunderstorm, or in sub-freezing temperatures because an ice dam is blocking your gutter.
Leaf guards must be able to withstand great extremes of temperature. Most plastics won’t hold up to the beating sun or the freezing temperatures. Aluminum, PVC, galvanized steel, or powder-coated steel leaf guards are good choices.
One more advantage of leaf guards is that they help prevent mold and mildew. When gutters are blocked, water can seep under the edges of shingles, or down the inside of a wall. Areas that are constantly wet are prime breeding grounds for mold, mildew and fungus. Mosquitoes can lay hundreds of eggs in small puddles in your gutters. Wasps and hornets construct nests in the piles of debris left in gutters. The simple solution to all of these issues is to install leaf guards.
