I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

aezael wrote in message ...
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I too am of the age where climbing ladders to clean my gutters has become
too strenuous and dangerous.

When I was in Lowe's a few days ago I saw a device that attaches to a garden
hose and allows one to clean their first floor gutters from the ground.

It sells for about $25 or $30 and I intend to get one this weekend. I'll let
you know how it works.

on 5/21/2007 6:47 PM Freckles said the following:
aezael wrote in message ...

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.


I too am of the age where climbing ladders to clean my gutters has become
too strenuous and dangerous.

When I was in Lowe's a few days ago I saw a device that attaches to a garden
hose and allows one to clean their first floor gutters from the ground.

It sells for about $25 or $30 and I intend to get one this weekend. I'll let
you know how it works.

Don't bother. I got one. It sucks, unless you only have a few leaves in
there. Once they pile up halfway down the gutter, you'll need a pressure
washer to break it up. A ladder, bucket, and two hands (plastic gloves
optional) is the best way to go.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On May 21, 4:55 pm, aezael wrote:
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I replace my open gutters about 12 years ago with a gutter system
called LeafGuard. This system uses a complete cover over the gutter
that relies on the water adhearing to the surface of the guard and
following a curve back into the gutter while the leaves are washed off
the guard.

http://www.leafguard.com

They guarantee the system and will clean the gutters for free if they
ever clogged. I lived in the house for 12 years after putting the
gutters on and only had to have them cleaned out once. The gutters
were very effective with a couple of minor exceptions. One, the fine
gravel off of our new roof flowed with the water into the gutter. The
water flow was not enough to clear the gravel out of the gutter. The
other problem was a buildup of pine-needles over that period of time
and we had to have the gutters cleaned after 10 years. The other
types of leaves were not a problem though and they washed over the
gutter.

aezael wrote:
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I have seen only one test that appeared to be good. It found that what
system worked well (if any) depended on the situation. What kind of leaves
or needles or whatever might get into the gutters. The system that did well
with maple leaves did poorly with pine needles and if one did good with oak
leaves it likely failed on those maple seed things.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

I choked bought them and wished I would have done it thirty years ago Best
money I ever spent 99.9% satisfied
bigger gutters bigger downspouts and I added the pop up yard water diverters
from waterproof.com Very Happy I camper I is!!!
"BobR" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 21, 4:55 pm, aezael wrote:
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I replace my open gutters about 12 years ago with a gutter system
called LeafGuard. This system uses a complete cover over the gutter
that relies on the water adhearing to the surface of the guard and
following a curve back into the gutter while the leaves are washed off
the guard.

http://www.leafguard.com

They guarantee the system and will clean the gutters for free if they
ever clogged. I lived in the house for 12 years after putting the
gutters on and only had to have them cleaned out once. The gutters
were very effective with a couple of minor exceptions. One, the fine
gravel off of our new roof flowed with the water into the gutter. The
water flow was not enough to clear the gravel out of the gutter. The
other problem was a buildup of pine-needles over that period of time
and we had to have the gutters cleaned after 10 years. The other
types of leaves were not a problem though and they washed over the
gutter.

"Freckles" wrote in message
...

aezael wrote in message
...
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I too am of the age where climbing ladders to clean my gutters has become
too strenuous and dangerous.

When I was in Lowe's a few days ago I saw a device that attaches to a
garden hose and allows one to clean their first floor gutters from the
ground.

It sells for about $25 or $30 and I intend to get one this weekend. I'll
let you know how it works.


They don't work well. All they do is blow the leaves & such to the drain
pipe, where they get stuck.

Leafguard gutters (a brand name with built in guards) work well for all
types of trees in my experience. GUtter helmuts were useless on my previous
house.


aezael wrote in message ...
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I'm surprised you ever needed them cleaned. Mine are perfectly spotless
inside after 9 years. I wonder if yours were installed with a low spot.



"BobR" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 21, 4:55 pm, aezael wrote:
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I replace my open gutters about 12 years ago with a gutter system
called LeafGuard. This system uses a complete cover over the gutter
that relies on the water adhearing to the surface of the guard and
following a curve back into the gutter while the leaves are washed off
the guard.

http://www.leafguard.com

They guarantee the system and will clean the gutters for free if they
ever clogged. I lived in the house for 12 years after putting the
gutters on and only had to have them cleaned out once. The gutters
were very effective with a couple of minor exceptions. One, the fine
gravel off of our new roof flowed with the water into the gutter. The
water flow was not enough to clear the gravel out of the gutter. The
other problem was a buildup of pine-needles over that period of time
and we had to have the gutters cleaned after 10 years. The other
types of leaves were not a problem though and they washed over the
gutter.

BobR wrote:
On May 21, 4:55 pm, aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.


I replace my open gutters about 12 years ago with a gutter system
called LeafGuard. This system uses a complete cover over the gutter
that relies on the water adhearing to the surface of the guard and
following a curve back into the gutter while the leaves are washed off
the guard.

http://www.leafguard.com

They guarantee the system and will clean the gutters for free if they
ever clogged. I lived in the house for 12 years after putting the
gutters on and only had to have them cleaned out once. The gutters
were very effective with a couple of minor exceptions. One, the fine
gravel off of our new roof flowed with the water into the gutter. The
water flow was not enough to clear the gravel out of the gutter. The
other problem was a buildup of pine-needles over that period of time
and we had to have the gutters cleaned after 10 years. The other
types of leaves were not a problem though and they washed over the
gutter.




So much of whar works is depndent upon what ypur "leaf" situation is.
I live in the Pacific NW, Oregon. Most of my gutter / roof crud is Douglas
fir needles, maybe 1/8 inch wide, half that thick and maybe 5/8 -
3/4 inch long. The rest is vine maple and alder leaf.

Several neighbors have invested in the "Cadillac systems" like Leaf Guard
and Gutter Helmet. Both work well with the maple leaves and alder
but are less than a success with the Doug fir needles. While the Leaf
Guard uses get "free" cleaning, they had pay a lot up front for
that free" cleaning.

Last fall, I found a product at the Local Loews, cones in 36" strips, has a
white PVC like frame over which there is a white vinyl / PVC ish window
screen fabric glued on. The PVC like frame "snaps" into the gutter,
has a slight upward bow.

I put it on the front and back of the garage (about 24 feet each)
as a test over the fall and winter. I plan to go up ther this weekend
and check out ow it worked, as well as clean the house gutters.
Its a Memorial Day tradition around here.

Stuff I found is called "Snap In Gutter Filter" by an outfit called
"Gutter World". No location or web site listed on the label.
"Made in USA". UPC code 17857 00461 7. Label says "WHITE" in
bold letters, which leads me to believe that it is available
in other colors, but I've not seen any other colors.

It was $ 3.59 / $ 3.99 a 3 foot strip at Loews. Not cheap, not outrageous.
Still wanted to do a serious test before I invested in enough to
cover the 50' of gutter run in each of the back and front of the house.
Probably will look around to see if I can get a better pice on 35 - 40
pieces if I do decide to go with it on the house gutters.

I have no affiliation with or interest in the company or the product.
I'm just waiting to see how well it worked on the garage gutters.

YMMV.

Wish I'd have seen these responses before I tried the gutter blaster. I
said this b4 on here. My house in Fla. has no gutters and does fine.

My home in Pa is near alot of trees, so I think my bigger problem is
leaves and not water running off my roof. Maybe the gutters will
eventually fall off?

I think I only made them (the leaves) mad with the gutter blaster...;)

On 2007-05-21, aezael aezael wrote:
I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.

This looks interesting:

http://www.leaffilter.com/

The seem confident enough to name their major competitors. Usually,
companies don't directly name their competitors, instead saying "better
than the other leading brand" or things like that, unless they are very
sure that they are better.

This also seems to be an interesting approach:

http://www.leaffilter.com/

Basically, it has slats that get installed. The rain runs off the roof,
and the slats disperse it, so that it falls to the ground like rain,
instead of like a stream of running water.

I have a question about gutters. How clean do they need to be? Say my
getters are 3" deep, and an inch of crud accumulates somewhere, say in the
middle. OK, so I will basically have a 1" dam there, so will get some
standing water in the gutter. Is that a problem? Won't the result
simply be some standing water in part of the gutter? Any rain water
will either drain, or become part of the 1" deep lake behind that dam,
so there doesn't seem to be a drainage issue with having a little lake
in the gutter. Are there other problems with it, such as it becoming a
breeding ground for nasty things?

middle. OK, so I will basically have a 1" dam there, so will get some
standing water in the gutter. Is that a problem? Won't the result
simply be some standing water in part of the gutter?

Nope, the roof shingles and sheathing material directly above your
puddle will become damaged (mold, rot, etc) by the moisture
evaporating from that puddle. Also if it freezes in winter, your
gutter can be damaged by the expanding ice.

Tim Smith wrote:
On 2007-05-21, aezael aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.


This looks interesting:

http://www.leaffilter.com/

The seem confident enough to name their major competitors. Usually,
companies don't directly name their competitors, instead saying "better
than the other leading brand" or things like that, unless they are very
sure that they are better.

This also seems to be an interesting approach:

http://www.leaffilter.com/


Thanks for the tip.

Unfortunately, only one dealer in my state (Oregon) about 200 miles away in
Hermiston on the east side of the Cascades in high desert country.

Not a lot of Doug fir out there on which to test the efficiency of
the product, and a long way to go for a sales pitch.

Basically, it has slats that get installed. The rain runs off the roof,
and the slats disperse it, so that it falls to the ground like rain,
instead of like a stream of running water.

I have a question about gutters. How clean do they need to be? Say my
getters are 3" deep, and an inch of crud accumulates somewhere, say in the
middle. OK, so I will basically have a 1" dam there, so will get some
standing water in the gutter. Is that a problem? Won't the result
simply be some standing water in part of the gutter? Any rain water
will either drain, or become part of the 1" deep lake behind that dam,
so there doesn't seem to be a drainage issue with having a little lake
in the gutter. Are there other problems with it, such as it becoming a
breeding ground for nasty things?


Thanks for the

On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:55:01 -0500, aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I just installed a new roof and my roofer installs Leaf Guard.

However, he told me not to bother. No "clean gutter" system really
works well. They may prevent big, dry leaves from getting in, but wet
"gunk" will always find its way in there, and with most of them, you
can't really clean it out.

He suggested I save the money you would spend on such a system and use
it to pay a landscaper to clean the gutters a few times a year.

Not sure about this new invention I just came up with. What is does is
funnels water away from the edges of your roof and takes it ouside the
area of your foundation. It keeps water (runoff) isolated to certain
areas of the roof.

Only one problem, if you live near any trees chances are great that they
will fill up with leaves and render my 'invention' worthless and it is
possible when my invention is full of leaves you could be worse off.

But you can buy a cap for it, it's just the cap might not work either.
It'll only cost you about 1200 dollars to get my invention istalled on
your home and if you want the caps for it another 400.

How about it ..? Do we have a deal?

On Thu, 24 May 2007 22:09:38 -0400, (Charles
Pisano) wrote:

Not sure about this new invention I just came up with. What is does is
funnels water away from the edges of your roof and takes it ouside the
area of your foundation. It keeps water (runoff) isolated to certain
areas of the roof.

Only one problem, if you live near any trees chances are great that they
will fill up with leaves and render my 'invention' worthless and it is
possible when my invention is full of leaves you could be worse off.

But you can buy a cap for it, it's just the cap might not work either.
It'll only cost you about 1200 dollars to get my invention istalled on
your home and if you want the caps for it another 400.

How about it ..? Do we have a deal?

Nah, I'll just extend the roof edges 10 feet, landscape properly
around the home, and be fine. No need for those crazy things.

"DaveR" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:55:01 -0500, aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I just installed a new roof and my roofer installs Leaf Guard.

However, he told me not to bother. No "clean gutter" system really
works well. They may prevent big, dry leaves from getting in, but wet
"gunk" will always find its way in there, and with most of them, you
can't really clean it out.

He suggested I save the money you would spend on such a system and use
it to pay a landscaper to clean the gutters a few times a year.


My sentiments exactly. After my buddy told me the contractor's estimate for
installing Gutter Guards on his home I pointed out that he could hire a
handyman to clean his gutters twice a year for 30 years. By that time he
and I will either be plant food or drooling on our shirts.

Investigate "Leaf Filter" . Had mine done this Summer and after doing a lot
of research on the web, etc....can't find anybody to complain. Totally
different system that puts a stainless microscreen over the gutters that
only lets water through. The leaves, etc. tend to blow or wash over the
side and disappear. This is not one of those metal hoods that never
work....

Jim, Seattle

"C & E" wrote in message
...

"DaveR" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:55:01 -0500, aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I just installed a new roof and my roofer installs Leaf Guard.

However, he told me not to bother. No "clean gutter" system really
works well. They may prevent big, dry leaves from getting in, but wet
"gunk" will always find its way in there, and with most of them, you
can't really clean it out.

He suggested I save the money you would spend on such a system and use
it to pay a landscaper to clean the gutters a few times a year.


My sentiments exactly. After my buddy told me the contractor's estimate
for installing Gutter Guards on his home I pointed out that he could hire
a handyman to clean his gutters twice a year for 30 years. By that time
he and I will either be plant food or drooling on our shirts.

Leafguard gutters have been working perfectly on my house for 10 years now
without cleaning.


"C & E" wrote in message
...

"DaveR" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:55:01 -0500, aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I just installed a new roof and my roofer installs Leaf Guard.

However, he told me not to bother. No "clean gutter" system really
works well. They may prevent big, dry leaves from getting in, but wet
"gunk" will always find its way in there, and with most of them, you
can't really clean it out.

He suggested I save the money you would spend on such a system and use
it to pay a landscaper to clean the gutters a few times a year.


My sentiments exactly. After my buddy told me the contractor's estimate
for installing Gutter Guards on his home I pointed out that he could hire
a handyman to clean his gutters twice a year for 30 years. By that time
he and I will either be plant food or drooling on our shirts.

On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:47:35 -0400, "C & E"
wrote:


"DaveR" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:55:01 -0500, aezael wrote:

I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I just installed a new roof and my roofer installs Leaf Guard.

However, he told me not to bother. No "clean gutter" system really
works well. They may prevent big, dry leaves from getting in, but wet
"gunk" will always find its way in there, and with most of them, you
can't really clean it out.

He suggested I save the money you would spend on such a system and use
it to pay a landscaper to clean the gutters a few times a year.


My sentiments exactly. After my buddy told me the contractor's estimate for
installing Gutter Guards on his home I pointed out that he could hire a
handyman to clean his gutters twice a year for 30 years. By that time he
and I will either be plant food or drooling on our shirts.

I found this forum discussion particularly useful...
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=215847

I suspect I would have most of the problems people mention.

I'm coming into this discussion late and don't know if anyone has
mentioned this: http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354

Anyone have one?

bonnie in ok

On Oct 28, 2:44 pm, "Bonnie Jean" wrote:
I'm coming into this discussion late and don't know if anyone has
mentioned this:http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=354

Anyone have one?

bonnie in ok

When you are evaluating what system to use, depending on where you
live, ask about icicles.
I live in northern Ohio and had a system called K-guard installed,
which was similar to Leaf-Guard in design. With the old traditional
gutter system, I never had icicles on my gutters. However, with the K-
Guard, on the south-southwest faces of my home, I developed very large
icicles, 3' to 5' long during the winter on "warmer" days and cold
nights. The icicles ocurred on both an unheated garage and a well
insulated part of the house. I've since moved and chose a system made
by Alcoa on my new home. This system was installed with new gutters
being installed on the house and is similar to the plastic insert type
sold for self installation at a Home Depot type store, but with very
small holes and made from aluminum. After 3 years, the system has
worked very well, with minimal debris sticking in the holes and no
problems with icicles.

I expect that the efficiency and efficacy of the various gutter / leaf
guards depends upon where you are and hat kind of tree debris you get.

I'm in Portland, OR. We get big leaf maple leaves, alder leaves, some
oak leaves, but more d@*N
Douglas fir needles than you'd believe.

Over 30 years in this house I've used at least four different gutter
guard type
products, all of which were utter failures with the Doug fir needles,
which filled
the gutters in no more than 60 days. I could have been cleaning the
gutters 6
times a year if I was that ambitious, and I wasn't. Three times a year was
more than enough for me.

Last year (Spring 2006) I found something that worked. No, I don't
manufacture
the stuff; I don't distribute it, I don't retail it, and other than on
my own house, I
don't install it.


I did test it for about 16 months by installing it on the back of the
garage, to see how
it worked. It worked very well. Its not absolutely perfect. Some
stuff still gets into
the gutters, but I believe its less than 5% of what used to
accumulate. I've only had
to clean that gutter once in the 16 months, and it was no where near
full.
It used to fill up to the top of the gutter with the Doug fir stuff, and
made a great
growing medium for dandelions and other cute stuff.

Its a white 3 foot long PVC product about 6 inches wide with a cross
hatched PVC
base with 3/8 - 1/2 holes in the base. Over it, and heres the key for
the fir needles,
is a white PVC screen that has maybe 1/8" holes. Water drops through,
and drains
through the gutter. The crud collects on top of the screen, dries, and
the wind blows
most of it off.

It installs by sliding one flat end under the lowest shingle row and
snapping a
flange kind of thing over the front lip of the gutter.

The first batch I bought were at a local Lowes for $ 1.97 a three foot
section. First
batch had a label on it identifying it as a "Snap In Gutter Filter",
made by a company
called "Gutter World", no web site or street / city/ address on it. I
used white,
but they had them in brown, too. "Made in U.S.A." on the label. The
product
UPC on the first batch was: 0 17857 00461 7. No patent number on the
label or
the product.

After last weekend's check of the test batch at the back of the garage
decided to do
the garage front and the front of the house. Went back to Lowe's, they
still had the
things. but with a slightly different label, but still identical art
work, indicating the
manufacturer to be Amerimax Home Products, Inc.; still no website
listed, still no
city, street address or state. Still "Made in the U.S.A." Does have a
different
product UPC, now being 0 49821 86270 1. Still called "Snap In Gutter
Filter".
Again, no patent number on the label or the product.

And best of all, the 3 foot strip is now $ 1.47. Less than $ 15.00 bucks
for the
garage front is a real good number in my book. The 60' front of the house,
which is tomorrow's project after I empty the damn gutter this
afternoon, will
run less than $ 45.00.

I noticed no deterioration in the PVC on the test batch. Apparently no
ultraviolet
effect in the 16 months those have been up. Then again, this is the west
side of
the Cascades, so we only get sun on July 17, except when its raining, as it
was this year. (G)

I did the install on the 30' foot width of the front of the garage in
about 10 minutes
this morning. It took a lot longer than that to clean the damn gutter.

Just my $ 0.02.
YMMV.
No guarantees.
Might be worth trying a test strip on one gutter if you are plagued with
fir or
pine needles.



Jim L wrote:
Investigate "Leaf Filter" . Had mine done this Summer and after doing a lot
of research on the web, etc....can't find anybody to complain. Totally
different system that puts a stainless microscreen over the gutters that
only lets water through. The leaves, etc. tend to blow or wash over the
side and disappear. This is not one of those metal hoods that never
work....

Jim, Seattle

"C & E" wrote in message
...

"DaveR" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 21 May 2007 16:55:01 -0500, aezael wrote:


I am getting too old to climb ladders and clean the gutters so I am
asking for any input about how to protect the gutters from being
filled with leaves and debris.
Thanks for any help.

I just installed a new roof and my roofer installs Leaf Guard.

However, he told me not to bother. No "clean gutter" system really
works well. They may prevent big, dry leaves from getting in, but wet
"gunk" will always find its way in there, and with most of them, you
can't really clean it out.

He suggested I save the money you would spend on such a system and use
it to pay a landscaper to clean the gutters a few times a year.


My sentiments exactly. After my buddy told me the contractor's estimate
for installing Gutter Guards on his home I pointed out that he could hire
a handyman to clean his gutters twice a year for 30 years. By that time
he and I will either be plant food or drooling on our shirts.

"jJim McLaughlin" wrote in message
. ..
I expect that the efficiency and efficacy of the various gutter / leaf
guards depends upon where you are and hat kind of tree debris you get.

I'm in Portland, OR. We get big leaf maple leaves, alder leaves, some
oak leaves, but more d@*N
Douglas fir needles than you'd believe.

And best of all, the 3 foot strip is now $ 1.47. Less than $ 15.00 bucks
for the
garage front is a real good number in my book. The 60' front of the
house,
which is tomorrow's project after I empty the damn gutter this
afternoon, will
run less than $ 45.00.


We're in the same town, and interestingly enough, I found what I think is
the same stuff. Can't recall if it was Lowes or HD, I imagine they have
near-identical products with different stamps on them.

My neighborhood now has no overhead Doug Firs, so I have opted for the
single "layer" version with the larger holes. With the variety of leaves
that we do have, it seems to work beautifully. One weekend of climbing
around and I haven't had to clean gutters in the two years since.

I'm in a side-by-side dual home unit, and my neighbor had the LeafGuard
system installed on his place. We both seem to have similar results, I
beleive my solution was just slightly cheaper ;-)