How to Protect Gutters

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Adding gutters to your home is a wise investment. Gutters provide a place for rainwater to run off and away from your house's foundation, but if you don't protect your gutters from debris, you may find they aren't doing their job. Here are some things you can do to keep your gutters functioning optimally.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Leather gloves
Ladder

Step1

Slip on your leather gloves. Climb the ladder and clean out the debris that accumulates in the gutter. It's not much fun, but this old-fashioned method of gutter cleaning has been around since the beginning of gutters. If you fail to clean your gutters regularly, water can back up and run into the fascia boards, causing them to rot.

Step2

Put a dispersal system in place in your gutters to protect them from accumulations of foreign matter. This is a relatively new product. Most dispersal system products are self-cleaning, which means you could skip Step 1.

Step3

Protect the inside of the gutter from debris with a metal gutter guard, a solid metal cover over the gutter with a ½-inch-wide gap that allows the water into the gutter itself and keeps other materials out. Some of these can handle up to 5 inches of rain an hour and still not clog.

Step4

Install a crown molding-type gutter protector, which uses channels to filter out unwanted materials. If you are looking for attractive gutter protection, this may be a good choice.

Step5

Use a mesh material to block debris. You can permanently attach the mesh to the gutter or drop it into the gutter to protect it. This type of gutter protection is a favorite of contractors.