[shobuddy]

I live in a two-story house with lots of mature trees on the property. I have to get the gutters cleaned at least three times a year at $140 a pop on average. Have been thinking about getting gutter covers but have read they can be counter productive. I realize no gutter covers are meant to be 100% clog proof so my question is, how does one clean gutters with gutter covers? Is removing the covers the only way to clean? The ones I'm looking at (see image attached) need to be screwed in so I imagine the $140 price might triple or quadruple if gutters with gutter covers need to be cleaned?

 

[XSleeper]

If you have decent gutter covers you wont need to clean them 3x a year, or even every other year. You might need to blow leaves off the top of them. The biggest problem with those types of covers would be pine needles. So if you have no pines, you are on the right track.

 

[Gymschu]

Not a fan of gutter covers. They never work as advertised. I've shared on here the story of my neighbors who spent thousands of dollars to have gutter helmet installed. Guaranteed to eliminate cleaning for the life of the system. What a load of crap. Birds get in and build nests, small debris gets in, they simply don't work. I had to take apart the helmet because Gutter Helmet would not honor their guarantee to come out and clean the gutters if they ever got clogged. Me doing so also invalidated the guarantee, but, hey, they weren't going to fix the issue so it was a moot point.

You MAY have better luck with a system like that, but, just be aware that it's not foolproof. I'd say every 2 or 3 years you're going to have to remove them to properly clean out the gutters. Is it worth the hassle?

 

[shobuddy]

Thanks for the responses. Once every two to three years doesn't sound bad compared to 3 times a year. I imagine I would not have to remove all of them, maybe just the ones at the downspouts. I've looked at all kinds of DIY solutions but nothing seems worth while.

 

[XSleeper]

IMO the ones you have shown are best and are very easy to remove if you ever need to. They are the kind I put on my parents' house and only thing I have ever done is blown them off with a leaf blower.

 

[Old Thomas]

Roof stones, dirt and small seeds go through and stuff starts growing in your gutters. Also they cut the surface area that is open to water by a large percentage. They will probably increase cleaning intervals and increase the cost of each cleaning.

 

[chandler48]

Gutter Helmet is the best design IN THEORY, but nothing is foolproof. The theory is the water is directed back into the gutter via capillary action on the edge while heavier solid stuff is washed off. Great Theory. Just don't fall for their warranty spiel. They WON'T come and clean your gutters.

I'd rather to not have any cover and just wash out the gutters occasionally, but mine aren't that high off the ground.

 

[shobuddy]

Would something like the link below be better than what I showed in the original post? It seems to have really good reviews. The original post shows what the installer offered to install but maybe this is a better option?


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gutter-...cro-Mesh-Gutter-Guard-20-Pack-THD80/300276095

 

[chandler48]

I would like to know the flow rate of the mesh first, but they do look viable to keep even pine needles out.

 

[surferdude2]

I used the type that snaps on to the outside edge of the gutter. They were overly wide and the instructions said to slide them under the shingles. I wouldn't even consider doing that to a roof, so I cut them down so they rest on top of the gutter brackets. They work so well that I haven't been back up there for 16 years now and I have 3 giant oaks and 2 split crotch maples that used to have me cleaning plugged gutters every year. They have a screen under the main framwork and it thankfully keeps the maple helicopters out.

 

[HandyAndyInNC]

I had the same issues with gutters on our house when we purchased it. It is 3 story with large trees all around. It had K style gutters that were not sized correctly for the amount of roof area. I removed all of the cheap junk and installed new cedar fascia all the way around. And then installed copper half round 5" gutters and 6" round downspouts. Nothing in the gutters to catch any debris now. What falls in the gutters comes all the way down to the ground at the debris diverter while the water travels into the underground pipe that takes all the water to a large french drain on the back of the property. We do save some of the water in a 500 gallon tank for the lawn and flowers.