About Gutter Guards
Gutter guards are a much-needed architectural feature for homes and other buildings in cold climates. Even though they are in use in some hotter climates, gutter guards are of particular importance in these cold regions where gutters are most prone to clog up with foliage and other botanical material, causing serious structural damage to the building. Does this Spark an idea?
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Function
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Across much of the U.S., Canada and almost all of Europe, deciduous trees shed their leaves during the late fall and winter seasons. In spring, they drop seedpods, buds, petals and small leaves. This debris falls or is blown onto rooftops and accumulates in the gutters. Gutter guards help prevent this botanical material from entering your gutter system and clogging it up.
Features
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Gutter guards are designed to be installed over existing gutters. The gutter guard is designed to allow rainwater and melted snow to flow into the gutter and down the gutter spout, while keeping out leaves and other organic debris. The debris is instead swept over the side of the gutter and falls harmlessly to the ground.
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Benefits
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By keeping gutters and downspouts clear of blockage, gutter guards help alleviate some of the serious home defects that would otherwise result. When leaves clog up gutters, they hamper their effectiveness in draining water overflow. This in turn results in structural problems that range from basement seepage, leaky roofs, rotting wood and even cracked foundations. This damage often calls for major and expensive repairs.
Cleaning
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It is important to keep in mind that, while most gutter guards on the market prevent large size leaves and twigs from getting into your gutters, they do allow very small leaves and some decomposed debris to slip through. For this reason, installing a gutter guard does not entirely do away with the need to clean your gutters periodically. The guards simply lower the number of times you need to clean the gutters. Choosing guards that can be removed and re-installed easily will save you cleaning time and trouble.
Types
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Gutter guards are available in a range of materials that include plastic, steel, aluminum, PVC and industrial strength nylon. Today, there is a particularly huge interest in micro-mesh gutter guards, which are made from steel and aluminum and have significantly smaller holes than the regular gutter guards. They not only block large leaves, but also prevent small leaves and other small debris from seeping in.
Another popular type of guard is a finely porous plastic that is far superior to the other gutter guards in blocking debris, as well as being light, easy to remove and easy to clean. A plastic gutter guard of this kind can be removed off-season, washed and then placed back again as winter approaches.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Author - Mattox . image courtesy of StockXchange, under the StockXchange license
