November 8, 2009 11:34am by admin | 
We are back with another Reader Report – this time it’s Joe talking about his experiences with the Leaf Filter gutter system. Things didn’t go too well for Joe. Read his report:
Hello everyone. I had Leaf Filter installed on my gutters. My experience was completely horrible with Leaf Filter and I had to work with my local BBB to get the Leaf Filter manufacturer to compensate me for having their product uninstalled from my gutters.
Leaf Filter in Action
They would not give me a full reimbursement for their product, but I was able to get about 1/3 of what I paid. Every time I see the Leaf Filter being demoed at the home shows by a
certified installer, I approach them and tell them what a disappointing product it was for me. I have a metal roof and I live in the northwest. We get a lot of rain here and it is constantly moist. The mesh filter kept getting clogged with mildew and moss. I tried
to bleach the filter and scrub out the mesh – but I found out from other disappointed Leaf Filter owners that you have to also scrub out the underside of the mesh too. Which means, you have to uninstall the mesh entirely to clean it because it gets clogged from the outside in and the inside out.In addition, leaves would pile up on the gutter. Because of all of this, water would run right across Leaf Filter and never get into my gutters to being with. Not a good situation for me – especially because my house has a basement.
The Leaf Filter manufacturer told me that their product should NOT be installed on a house with a metal roof because the filter cannot keep up with the velocity of the water (I have a 6/12 roof pitch, which is not extreme). The installer told me that they never knew about this. The installer also told me that they have had so many complaints about Leaf Filter that they will no longer install it and have chosen not to be the regional Leaf Filter installer.
Maybe Leaf Filter is just not for folks that live in wet climates – so I guess your mileage may vary if you live in a drier climate, don’t have a metal roof, and have a roof pitch that is less aggressive than mine (6/12 is the standard where I live).
I would much, much rather clean my gutters twice a year rather than spend the extra money on gutter protection systems. I will never buy another gutter protection system… and when I get too old to clean out my gutters, then I will pay someone else to do it for me.
Is this just one person’s bad experience? If you use Leaf Filter, please let us know what you think. Leave a comment.
Wow… I was considering Leaf Filter too. Thanks for the info. I hope that more current owners leave some comments.
I’ve had Leaf Filter on my house for over five years and have never had a problem. My wife and I live in the woods in Ohio and we have tons of pine trees in our yard. I’m wondering if maybe you just had a bad installer who didn’t know what they were doing. The dealer in my area is very reputable. I checked them out with the BBB before I bought. Sorry you had a bad experience but if anyone else reads this, I would recommend this system to anyone.
Chris, thanks very much for your comments!
I also had the Leaf Filter installed on my house in the winter of 09. I lve on 5 acres of pine trees. So I thought this would take care of the pine needles. IT DID NOT!. The pine needles do not blow away because it is too cold and wet all winter. I live in the Olympia Wa area. I call the company because the system did not work on my house. So the sent out someone to look at them. The day he arrived we had a cold spell and everything was frozen. So he took pictures. He said he would talk to his boss. I told him I wanted them taken off and I wanted a refund because the did not work. Never heard from them . So I call them. They told me that they only guarentee that the gutters will not clog. They do not clog , now they do not work at all . Now all the water just runs over them. So now I have to have them taken off so my gutters will work again.i am now thying to figure out what to use that might work better.