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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Reasons to Use Gutter Guards

When you own a home you will be taking on the task of having to clean out your gutters. Yes, this happened a few times a year. Before the winter, after the winter, before summer and before fall; especially when the leave start falling. Gutter Guards

The reason why you have gutters is to deflect rain water into the gutter and pass through the gutter drain. The problems most home owners have is this; their gutters are catching leaves, sticks, twigs, birds building nests in the guards. No matter how many times you clean them out there is always something. Even the best gutter guards will not keep out everything.

Gutter guards are good at keeping out the large pieces of debris, like sticks and leaves and birds from making nests. There are different types of gutter guards there are guards made from mesh, wire, vinyl and aluminum. There are guards that fit over the gutter and the mesh ones fit in the gutter. What happens when your gutters are clean and it rains you will see a stream of water come down the drainpipe. When the gutter are clogged or there is an obstruction then the guards need to be cleaned and this can happen even though you have guards.

Benefits of Gutter Guards

There are benefits to using gutter guards; by installing them and keeping the gutter functional you will have the maximum benefit of the gutters themselves, you will be able to keep the flow of water moving so your basement and patios don’t accumulate with water. The guards help protect the concrete around the home. The color of concrete and brick are protected. You will not create mud and mud puddles on the grass.

By having gutter guards you are preventing a back up of water from the roof from cutting into the home. Gutter guards can also be a great asset in the winter because it prevents freezing.

Clogged gutters can also manifest puddles of water. When you have gutters full of stagnant puddles of water for a long period of time, they attract mosquitoes, weeds and grasses can grow there as well causing a breeding ground for bugs (and the West Nile Virus).

You have to keep in mind as great as gutter guards are that gutter will still need to be cleaned. There is no sure fire way to keep the gutters clean. Guards only help protect not prevent the gutters from becoming clogged. You will still need to clean them. Especially before the winter. If you live in an area that has a high volume of snow and the gutters are not clear then the snow will pile up on the roof and cause major problems for you over time.

When you go to your local home improvement store ask the sales people what they recommend that you use. Then ask them if you will have to still clean the gutters, the sales people will tell you no but give your self a challenge. Install the guards and then wait until the fall. Into the first week of leaves falling you will know whether or not the gutter do what they are intended to do.

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