Do Gutters With Gutter Guards Need to be Cleaned?
Gutter cleaning and maintenance is a crucial task that every homeowner must do in order to keep their home’s structural integrity, maintain its curb appeal, and avoid massive and costly repairs. Two times per year is the suggested number of gutter cleaning sessions suggested by experts across the industry to remove built-up junk from storms and seasonal debris.
To combat the need for routine gutter cleaning, many homeowners turn to the installation of gutter guards to keep large waste from entering the gutter lines and avoid gutter and downspout clogging.
That leaves many homeowners curious – Do gutter guards prevent the need for those semi-annual cleanings?
First thing’s first…
What are Gutter Guards?
There are a few different types of gutter guards that homeowners choose but the most common is made from aluminum mesh. They are often screwed through the home’s fascia and secured on top of the gutter lines.
The other primary type is described as gutter covers that work with surface tension or surface adhesion to guide roof water over the guards and into the basin. Many gutter covers are installed under the roofing material to ensure water flows accurately into the channels.
All types of guards intend to keep large debris like tree branches, twigs, and leaves from entering and accumulating inside the gutters. When gutters are clogged, they can cause major damage to the home from roof leaks and mosquito breeding grounds to cracked foundations and devastated landscaping.
Do Gutter Guards Actually Work?
Unfortunately, most gutter guards do not keep out all debris. Smaller pieces like dirt, dust, seeds and pine needles can still enter the gutters through the mesh or the cover slots. When combined with rain water, these fine particles create the perfect clogging material to prevent the gutters from doing their job of channeling water away from the house.
As promised, they do prevent large debris from entering the gutter lines, but most times that debris just lays and accumulates on top of the guards. If your home is situated in an area that enjoys snow during the winter season, ice damming becomes a major issue.
Ice damming places immense weight and pressure on the roof and could cause major damage or eventual roof collapse. Ice dams happen when melted snow attempts to drain into the gutters but it is blocked by leaves and other gunk laying on top of gutter guards. This allows the water to refreeze and permits more water build-up under a layer of snow. Many homeowners don’t notice it’s happening until it’s too late.
Read the Small Print on Gutter Guard Installation
Before installing gutter guards on your home, be sure to check with the company that holds any warranty on your roof. Sometimes the installation of gutter covers can void the warranty, leaving homeowners to foot the bill in case of home damage.
Check with your homeowner’s insurance company to verify that the installation of the coverings still holds you liable for any damage incurred in spite of gutter protection being installed. If faulty materials are used, or if the installation causes gutter damage over time, commonly, homeowners insurance points the finger at the homeowner for repairs due to neglecting proper gutter maintenance.
Do Gutters with Gutter Guards Still Require Cleaning?
Short answer: Yes.
Even with gutter guards installed over your existing gutter system, they will still require annual cleanings. The risk involved in avoiding gutter maintenance is not recommended.
When cleaning gutters that have some type of guard attached, the quick weekend project becomes much longer and a very involved process. The guards must be removed before adequate cleaning can occur, and reattached once completed. This could triple the workload.
Over time, the detaching and reattaching of gutter covers can weaken the fasteners on the gutter system itself and cause leaking between the fascia and the gutters – leaving your home’s foundation to seep up the excess water.
Need Some Help with Your Gutter Cleaning?
If removing and reinstalling gutter protection in order to perform your twice-per-year gutter cleaning seems like an impossible task because you have a two-story home, are swamped with work, are not physically able to complete the chore, or maybe you just enjoy your weekends – consider hiring a professional gutter cleaning company that is fully insured.
When researching gutter cleaning companies, inquire about any gutter protection plans that include regular inspection of the wear or damage of your gutters during the spring and fall cleaning schedule. Oftentimes, the highly-trained technicians will make minor repairs as part of the plan at no additional cost to you. However, most pros will charge a fee for the added labor incurred while working around gutter guards.
Conclusion
Are gutter guards worth it?
Well… that depends on your personal preferences, but in our expert opinion, gutter guards don’t commonly work as advertised since gutter maintenance is still required to maintain the structural integrity of your home and avoid high repair costs due to water damage.