Hot take: That $400 leaf gutter guard I installed last May was a total waste

I put in these mesh gutter guards on my house in Decatur back in May thinking it'd save me from climbing a ladder every fall. By last week the gutters were still clogged with pine needles and those little seed pods from my neighbor's oak tree. The mesh holes got so gunked up that water was just running right over the top and pooling around my foundation. I spent Sunday afternoon ripping them all off and cleaning out the mess underneath. The guards themselves cost me $400 plus a full day of installation time. Now I'm back to just using a leaf blower from the roof edge twice a year. Has anyone else tried those foam inserts instead or should I just stick with regular cleaning?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant9011d ago

Man, I feel your pain. I went through the exact same thing with those mesh guards a couple years back and ended up with a muddy swamp around my downspouts. The foam inserts worked a little better for me since they let the water pass through more freely, but they still trapped a ton of gunk right against the gutter. I finally gave up and just clean my gutters with a leaf blower every spring and fall like you're doing now.

river_jones1d ago

The leaf blower trick works best if you do it when the gutters are bone dry.