gutter guards??

[wolf]

If possible, cut down/trim trees to below the height of the gutters. Go after the source.

 

[sheehs1]

I got rid of the large trees around my house. I have someone check my gutters once a year. No gutter guards.

 

[DrRoy]

I have big silver maple trees that shed many leaves in fall and many seeds in spring. I had an aluminum product with a 3/8 inch diamond shape opening, which was pretty good for leaves but trapped many of the seeds and needed much cleaning. I took that out. For a couple years now I have had a foam product that fills most of the gutter. That was pretty good for several seasons but now they have gotten clogged up over time with shingle grit and small organic debris. I may try one of the ideas above. Any of the professional products that I investigated all turned out that the guarantees were next to worthless. If the product did not work they were not really going to come clean your gutters.

 

[bingybear]

I've never found a guard that works with pine needles. What I did find is that the weakness in the system is where the down spout attaches to the gutter. If you look at it from the top, it is just a little oval hole. I made a funnel shaped piece to attach the downspout to the gutter, which discharges into the larger commercial sized downspouts. Makes a huge difference for plugging, though leaves need to be cleaned out. It looks sort of like this: https://www.gutterpeople.co.za/funnels.html

Not sure how this would work in my installation. My downspouts at ground level go into a pipe that goes underground and take the water out to the street (outlet is in the lower part of the curb). I don't seem to have a problem of getting the water down the down spout unless there is a clog in the gutter. The most common place to clog is at the down spout and in my case is because I use filters at the interface of the gutter to down spout. This filter may not be needed if my new screens are effective.

You note that you have to clean out the leaves. My question is clean them out from what part of the system? I could see making making the pipes flow better could help, but I don't see how this would keep the system from clogging up or where in the system you clean the leaves.

 

[JoeWras]

Not sure how this would work in my installation.

Funnels and wide downspouts help, but can never be foolproof. Small twigs make a great matrix to catch leaves.

If you are in tree country, you will get twigs.

Cutting trees down to level or what have you helps the twig problem. Leaves will still fly crazy distances. In tree country, nobody is immune to leaves. I've been on top of 6 story commercial buildings and have been amazed by the amount of leaves accumulated, with trees very far away.

Even twigs can fly a bit, although not as much.

 

[TromboneAl]

It's all pine needles for us. I tried a guard that cut down on the clogging, but when the gutters eventually clogged, the guard made it harder to clear the clog.


Our solution now, is this:

1. Gutter Sense Gutter Cleaner
2. Pay someone to clean the gutters once per year.

I do it a little differently than the guy in the video. I grab the debris then turn the pole and release it. It's rewarding as long as the soggy debris doesn't fall on your head.

 

[bingybear]

Funnels and wide downspouts help, but can never be foolproof. Small twigs make a great matrix to catch leaves.

If you are in tree country, you will get twigs.

Cutting trees down to level or what have you helps the twig problem. Leaves will still fly crazy distances. In tree country, nobody is immune to leaves. I've been on top of 6 story commercial buildings and have been amazed by the amount of leaves accumulated, with trees very far away.

Even twigs can fly a bit, although not as much.

Not sure how you define tree country, But I expect we are in part of it. We get leaves on our roof that don't grow in our yard, so wind does play a part.

I understand what was referred to by the one who posted it, the link was helpful on that part.
What I'm having problems understanding how you keep leaves and twigs from going down the funnels/down spout and into the under ground pipes that carry the water to the street (that is how our gutter systems get the water to the storm management. If one lets the leaves go down the funnel, then I expect I'd be digging up the pipes to clean them. If I used a filter at the down spout I would think that that would slow the catch leaves and stop the system and require cleaning out the system more often.

I understand how a larger transition and down spout could increase flow assuming leaves were not an issue. Even with leaves it may flow better.

I'm just having issues understanding how the funnel is going to help keep me from climbing up to clean out leaves or replace that with digging up pipes to clean them because I did not stop them earlier.

Maybe your system is completely different.

 

[JoeWras]

What I'm having problems understanding how you keep leaves and twigs from going down the funnels/down spout and into the under ground pipes that carry the water to the street (that is how our gutter systems get the water to the storm management. If one lets the leaves go down the funnel, then I expect I'd be digging up the pipes to clean them. If I used a filter at the down spout I would think that that would slow the catch leaves and stop the system and require cleaning out the system more often.

I understand how a larger transition and down spout could increase flow assuming leaves were not an issue. Even with leaves it may flow better.

I'm just having issues understanding how the funnel is going to help keep me from climbing up to clean out leaves or replace that with digging up pipes to clean them because I did not stop them earlier.

Maybe your system is completely different.

Before I put any guard up, I got leaves in my underground piping, so I see where you are coming from. I have the black corrugated plastic pipe that connects to the downspout and runs for about 30' to direct the flow away from the house.

What I found is that hydrostatic pressure is a wonderful thing. Up in the gutters, when the downspout opening clogs, then water goes over the edge. No pressure to direct anything.

At the buried pipe, however, you have water coming down and building up in a contained space. It tends to push out any clogs. Additionally, a compost action breaks down the clog.

Of course, I'm not saying it could never clog if you get loads of leaves going in there. It sure could and if the pressure is not enough, you'd probably see it spraying out at the interface between the downspout and the pipe, which is usually a loose joint. I'm just saying it is less likely and usually self corrects. It is also easy to run a snake up there from the outlet if necessary.

Ultimately, all of these break points is why these guards are popular. We are trying to stop anything big from getting into the system anywhere.

 

[travelover]

.............You note that you have to clean out the leaves. My question is clean them out from what part of the system? I could see making making the pipes flow better could help, but I don't see how this would keep the system from clogging up or where in the system you clean the leaves.

In my case, and I've since moved, my down spouts emptied out at the base of the house through short extensions away from the foundation. I had to clean out autumn crispy leaves from the gutters, but old soggy leaves and needles would flush down the downspouts. Note that I also up-sized the downspouts to the larger 3x4" size, which gives a lot more cross sectional area.

 

[jazz4cash]

I always wanted to try rain chains. Anybody tried that? I figure almost any system will require cleaning occasionally. The gutter cover systems I’ve seen that don t require any cleaning dump a lot of water on the ground in a heavy rain but some folks are ok with that. My goal is to have a system that will go a long time without clogging. That’s why I added extra downspouts.

 

[travelover]

I always wanted to try rain chains. Anybody tried that? I figure almost any system will require cleaning occasionally. The gutter cover systems I’ve seen that don t require any cleaning dump a lot of water on the ground in a heavy rain but some folks are ok with that. My goal is to have a system that will go a long time without clogging. That’s why I added extra downspouts.

I have a rain chain at my new house. It is decorative with a series of little buckets. It tends to get plugged up with soggy leaves easily. I guess if it was more actual chain like that wouldn't be a problem. It is really pretty to watch on a rainy day.

 

[NgineER]

https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...385-c-5812.htm?tid=8391131183513484068&ipos=8



put these on 10 years ago. best thing I ever did. my house is surrounded by oak and pine trees. I had to clean gutters every week or two. now I just have to check them once a year. most times there is nothing to clean but once in a while pine needles work their way in and have to clean them out. they are cheap, easy to install, no tools required except snips or scissors to cut off the end piece to fit.

Better yet-they are free after mail-in rebate.

 

[Newventurer]

These little buggers work great too to keep the sheets of slime and any other debris that gets in the gutter from clogging the drain pipe. You can’t tell but the screen is at a 45 degree angle so any leaves or junk just get jettisoned out and the water drains straight down