As a homeowner, you must ensure that rainwater is properly drained from your roof to avoid water pooling and leakages. This involves making sure that your gutters aren’t clogged. When your gutters get clogged with rocks, hailstones, snow, leaves, and other debris, they’ll cause water to back up, creating pools on your roof.
Many homeowners are installing gutter guards to prevent clogged gutters. Read on to find out if it’s a worthwhile investment.
What Are Gutter Guards?
A gutter guard is a screen placed over a gutter to prevent leaves, snow, rocks, and other debris from clogging your gutters. Gutter guards come in three significant designs: a gutter guard screen, a wire brush, and a gutter helmet. A gutter screen is made of a wire mesh placed over the gutter to catch debris, while a gutter helmet uses static to spool water back into the gutter while rolling the trash over the gutter. A cylindrical wire brush is placed into the gutter like a huge pipe cleaner.
The three types of gutter guards have their share of pros and cons that you must understand before you decide which one suits your gutters. Here are the pros and cons of gutter guards.
Pros of Helmet Gutter Guards
Also referred to as full-cover gutter guards, helmet gutter guards cover the entire gutter, preventing even the tiniest debris from getting into the gutter. These guards are particularly effective in areas that receive light and consistent rain. They’re mechanically secured on top of gutters to remain firmly attached to the roof during high winds and intense storms.
Cons of Helmet Gutter Guards
Sometimes water can flow over your helmet gutter guards, damaging essential parts of your house like the foundation, windows, walls, and landscape.
Pros of Wire Brush Gutter Guards
When too much debris accumulates on the wire brush, it impedes the free flow of water. So, you have to empty your wire brush gutter guards regularly.
Pros of Screen Gutter Guards
Screen gutter guards are inexpensive and easy to install. You can install them on your current gutter system without altering it, allowing water to flow freely into the gutters.
Cons of Screen Gutter Guards
The debris accumulated on the screen guard can prevent water from getting into the gutters. If they’re not installed properly, they can be blown off by heavy winds.