Comments on: do those gutter guards really work?

By: cookiesandcorn

cookiesandcorn — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:02:59 +0000

Look for the "Lock On Gutter Guard" this is what I use on my home and they work GREAT!!!
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By: steviewag

steviewag — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:28:59 +0000

My personal experience with them was negative. They work well in a warm climate, but here in Canada, where you can have a mild winter day that causes some melting on the roof, followed by a freezing night, which causes re-freezing of the water, you get ice dams, and the ice is actually helped along by fastening itself to the gutter guard and acting as a facilitator for the ice to hang on and become a larger piece than if it wasn’t there! Then the ice dam will work its way under the roofing, causing structural damage as it gets bigger, and when it melts. So I would say, if you live in a warm climate where ice dams would not be an issue, yes, use them, but here in Canada and in other colder climates, I would say no. I removed mine after this happened. I have found no economical method of keeping the eavestroughs self-cleaning without causing ice dams. So you just have to be vigilant about giving them one final cleaning after final leaf drop so they don’t clog with leaves and cause ice dams from THAT. One of the disadvantages of cold winters… (I’ve been looking for that self-cleaning device for over 30 years…)
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By: major_decoverly

major_decoverly — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:14:59 +0000

It depends on the slope of your roof. If you have a steep slope you won't have a leaf problem but during heavy rains the water washes right over the guards, thus defeating the purpose of gutters in the first place. Your salespeople won't tell you that. The guards work okay on a moderately slanted roof.
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By: murrayc

murrayc — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:25:59 +0000

I put up screening over my gutters several years ago and have not had to clean the leaves since. Whew~what a great investment (they charged me $2 a foot installed).
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By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:36:59 +0000

yes, but you don't need to buy the high dollar ones you see advertised on TV. go to some of your local hardware big-box retailers and you should find the same/similar type of product you can install yourself for much less.
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