Ask the Engineer Which Is The Best Gutter Protector to Keep Gutters Clean and Free Flowing

If you have heavy debris conditions there is only one way to keep your gutters clean and free flowing and that is to have the best gutter cover. How do you choose the best gutter guard? Is price the answer? Not necessarily so. The most expensive gutter cover may not necessarily be the best gutter guard. There are four types of gutter covers available. Screening devices are the first type. Simply put they are inadequate. Basic gutter screens often let enough debris into the gutter to clog it and the newer micro mesh types, even though they may not let any debris into the gutter, will accumulate debris on the top where it will keep water from getting into the gutter. The second type are leaf guards with fins or a rounded front nose collecting the rain water. To see the basic design Google "Niagara rain gutter cover leaf guards and gutter guards". You will find this basic design onn over a dozen different gutter covers. You will find that one of them even has screen openings on its top. A trough located below the fin or rounded nose is part of one of them. You can be guaranteed that in heavy debris conditions that sufficient debris will stick to the fin or rounded nose and go right into the gutter where it will either clog the gutter or the trough that delivers the water to the gutter. Louvered leaf guards with louvers instead of one long fin or nose is the third type. To see the basic design "Carefree Vinyl Gutter covers" which is also available in aluminum. Of all the designs we have looked at, it is the best chance in heavy debris conditions. Tje size of the debris that can get into the gutter is limited. However, more debris may get washed in from the lip of the gutter than you might wish and could clog the gutter. A gutter guard with a double row of louvers is the fourth type of gutter guards. To see what it looks like, Google "Waterloov gutter guards". Having two rows of louvers guarantees that no debris can get in from the lip of the gutter and you can be assured the gutter inside will never clog. This design has been successfully used on thousands and thousands of home since 1989. A key issue with all types of gutter covers is maintenance. With screens, they either have to be removed to clean the gutters inside or the tops have to be cleaned which often proves a big problem. The rounded nose or fin type (with or without the trough) have to be taken off the gutters, disconnected from the roof and then reinstalled whereas with the louvered products, they can usually be maintained by brushing with a telescopic pole and brush assembly. Removal of the gutter guards are never required with the double row design, however, with the single row design, it may be necessary to remove the gutter cover at the downspout. In summary, for heavy debris conditions the best gutter guard is the double row louvered gutter cover which are easy to maintain with a telescopic pole and brush (as high as two floors) and never clogs inside.

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