If you’re like most homeowners, chances are you look for every way out of that dreaded spring cleaning task – cleaning your gutters!
To alleviate this tedious home maintenance task, gutter guards have emerged as a popular solution. But still, we get asked all the time if gutter systems with gutter guards still need to be cleaned.
The answer for every different gutter guard product on the market is yes, you will still need to clean gutters even with gutter guards installed.
While gutter guards can undoubtedly prevent larger debris from causing immediate blockages, smaller particles like dirt, shingle granules, and silt can still infiltrate the gutters over time.
Why Clean Gutters Even After Installing Guards?
There are many different gutter guard products available. While all gutters equipped with guards will require cleaning at one point, some will need this maintenance far more regularly.
Foam Guards
Foam guards are quite popular due to their affordability and how simple they are to install. Most homeowners can install these completely DIY.
However, foam guards are usually more trouble than they’re worth. They aren’t great at preventing clogs, seeing as debris can pile at the top of foam gutter guards. They are one of the most notorious guards that allow seedlings and other plant life to collect and grow within them, which can wreak havoc on your gutters.
All of this is to say, foam gutter guards will require frequent maintenance and cleaning. In most cases, they aren’t worth the trouble.
Brush Guards
Brush gutter guards are another cheap and easy to install gutter guard that in our opinion isn’t worth the hassle.
Debris can often find its way through the bristles of brush guards and will pool inside your gutter system. Meaning you’ll be spending a lot of time on your ladder cleaning out your gutters.
Perforated Metal
Now for some better solutions.
Perforated metal gutter guards do a great job at keeping all sizes of debris from getting inside your home’s gutters. From shingle granules, to leaves, and even pine needles, perforated metal guards, like the ones from Alu-Rex will greatly improve the efficiency and life of your gutters.
The best part is that a slight breeze is usually enough to clear away most of the debris that will accumulate on the top of the gutter.
However, even though they’re a far superior product to a brush or foam guard, and the wind will often do the cleaning for you, you will still need to clean gutters outfitted with perforated metal gutter guards every now and then.
The benefit though, is that rather than needing to get on a ladder and scoop out debris, perforated metal products can usually be cleaned from the safety of the ground using an inverted broom. All you need to do is brush the debris sitting on top of the gutter. This is more often required if you live in an area that is shielded from the wind.
To make perforated metal guards even easier to clean, at Gutter Dunn we install access panels at every downspout location for easy access to ensure nothing has got into the Eavestrough.
Conclusion
No matter what type of gutter guards we’re talking about, your gutters will still require cleaning and maintenance.
However, some gutter guard systems will require you to clean your gutters far less frequently than others.
Our recommendation is to opt for a professional installation of a quality gutter guard system rather than deal with the headache of more DIY solutions.
Professionally installed gutter guards, like Alu-Rex’s continuous hanger system, for example, do a much better job at keeping your gutters clean of debris and pests than DIY guards like brush or foam. Cleaning your gutters also becomes much easier, and can be done safely from the ground with quality gutter guards.
At Gutter Dunn, we’ve been protecting homes in Edmonton from water damage for over 15 years! We’ve installed countless gutter guard systems that will save you hours of maintenance over the lifetime of your gutters, and extend the life of your gutters as well. If you’re interested in gutter guards for your existing gutter system, or looking to get your home fit with new gutters, give our expert eavestrough team in Edmonton a call today!
