Anyone have Leaf Filter issues?

[shooterdon]

I had their gutter guards installed 4 years ago. They started to give me problems about two years ago and are next to useless now.

The fine mesh screen has gotten plugged with pollen so water will not go through it. I added a metal rood\f after the filters were installed and now it is next to impossible to remove the filters because the metal roof overhangs the gutters by about 1.5".

I had another gutter company come in yesterday and they seemed honest. They told me any screen will either be too fine and block off after a while or too coarse and allow stuff to get trapped in it. They suggested going with a larger gutter, leaving it open, and cleaning it every two years.

Any thoughts and/or experience?

 

[blee03]

I've been having issues with my gutter guard screens clogging up too.

I'm thinking about https://www.leafguard.com/

Or https://www.amazon.com/GutterBrush-...ocphy=9016970&hvtargid=pla-353746368692&psc=1

 

[Snobdds]

We have giant trees at our place, the old lady will not let me cut them down. We have tried every possible solution from just leaving them open to the leaf filter route. They all have not lived up to expectations. The mesh filters are about the worst for actual gutter performance. The wide open was also useless with needing to blow out the gutters multiple times a summer.

The best are just the ones with the 1/8 holes. A good mix of keeping things out and letting water in be directed by the gutters.

 

[oldballs]

For the first time here (50 years), I had a leaf gutter gard installed when a new roof was installed. I think they work better than "nothing" for "leaves"....the kind with holes the size of BB's. But an assortment of other "stuff" goes thru anyway....especially the fine needles from several 80 ft White Pines within about 30 feet of the house. After 2-3 years of removing the gards to clean out the pine needles etc.....I just cut down the garn durn pine trees...5 of them. Now the big ole Sycamore leaves get blown off and things are working better now.

I think that the efficiency of various gards varies with the gard design itself.........and.......most of all...........what crap is falling on the roof.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Mendonsy]

I installed the cheap Amerimax 3' section expanded metal guards from Home Depot on my gutters about 15 years ago. I have only had one case where I had to clean out a clog in that time.

 

[Doofy]

Good to know that Leaf Filter may not be as good as the Hype. I will not waste the money.

 

[JasperFrank]

I've tryed three different systems. Foam insets, and two other gutter cover systems. They don't work for me. Not even for one season. The Foam inserts were a big mess, as seedlings started growing in them. The two cover types, kept leaves out, but the needles and algea, and smaller bits got in any way and created a sludge. it was more work to clear the gutters with the foam inserts or the Cover Guards than just leaving them open to be cleared out by hand twice a year.

 

[2manyrocks]

Can they be cleaned with a pressure washer?

 

[oldballs]

I've been satisfied with just a garden hose and narrow nozzle..........
A pressure washer sound like more work to me.

 

[JasperFrank]

I've done the pressure washer thingy. By the time I've moved the ladder, and cleared the blow off on the roof, its the same as if i just lifted stuff out by hand.

 

[2manyrocks]

I was just wondering if a pressure washer would clean out the mesh or if it would dislodge the filter guard and make more of a problem.

I just installed what I think is the same mesh last Fall. It kept the oak leaves out of the gutter, but I'll have to look at mine more carefully to see if it is starting to clog.

 

[glcaines]

I have leaf filter on my house. I was very disappointed that my gutter guards also filled up with pollen and clogged. I also have had a lot of problems with algae growing on the filter and clogging it.

 

[Dftodd]

I had their gutter guards installed 4 years ago. They started to give me problems about two years ago and are next to useless now.

The fine mesh screen has gotten plugged with pollen so water will not go through it. I added a metal rood\f after the filters were installed and now it is next to impossible to remove the filters because the metal roof overhangs the gutters by about 1.5".

I had another gutter company come in yesterday and they seemed honest. They told me any screen will either be too fine and block off after a while or too coarse and allow stuff to get trapped in it. They suggested going with a larger gutter, leaving it open, and cleaning it every two years.

Any thoughts and/or experience?

I pulled the end caps on my gutters. Then went out during a rain to see where the water was hitting the ground. I placed a paver at ground level in that spot to keep from having a hole develop.

Only reason I installed gutters on the front of my house was to keep from getting soaked going to my front door during a rain storm.

Had a valley from two roof lines that dumped directly in that spot. So during a heavy rain, it was the equivalent of getting blasted with a 3" hose.

 

[Dftodd]

I installed the cheap Amerimax 3' section expanded metal guards from Home Depot on my gutters about 15 years ago. I have only had one case where I had to clean out a clog in that time.

I tried those on my gutters. We had some pin oaks that would give off those stringy seed pods in the spring time. Those things stick to everything

Installed them in the fall and they worked pretty well for the oak leaves. They clogged up solid with the pin oak droppings in the spring. Pulled them off and threw them in the trash.

Was much easier to climb onto the roof with the blower and blow the gutters out.

 

[ponytug]

I have lived in a couple of homes designed not to need gutters, and it is by far my preferred design choice. I currently have the perforated metal mesh variety, which keeps some stuff out, but doesn't drain well, and still requires leaf blowing to get rid of debris.

All the best,

Peter