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.
Hi Joe,
I am a leaffilter dealer/Installer leaffilter works perfect with a metal roof it is they best gutter guard on the market for a metal roof application. Main reason is that it mounts just to the gutter it does not need to be mounted to the roof under the shingle like most gutter guards. Leaffilter gutter guard is the only micro-filtration gutter guard that does not mount under the roof shingle. I install it all the time on gutters that handle water from a metal roof. It sounds like who installed the system has a lack of experience, One of two things can be done if you are having a problem with water over shooting the gutter guard from a metal roof or any roof, If one of the steps below are taken it will fix the problem. First you could install the service screen/valley screen witch is a more pouris filter that will handle they extra water flow, this 90% of the time will fix the problem. Second If the problem persists what will need to be done is you will need to have a six inch gutter installed, intern you will have more of a filter surface to handle the extra water flow If you have more questions on this give me a call at 877 573 2653.
If leaffilter is properly installed and the right steps are taken when a problem arrises it can be eradicated 100% of the time. I believe leaffilter is they best gutter guard on the market with over 700,000ft installed personally from our company we never had a call back we could not fix and we never had a single clogged gutter!!!!!!!!
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Joe, I also live in the Northwest, Redmond to be exact. I got LeafFilter in 2007, and up to this year the dealer has sent someone out to pressure wash the mildew and growth off the screens so the water can get in the gutters. This year they wanted a “$120 Maintenance Fee”. I asked what good the product was if instead of maintaining/cleaning your gutters you need to maintain/clean the LeafFilter. My gutters look like crap now as the water that runs over causes streaks of stains on them. I wouldn’t recommend any of the add-ons to gutter systems, and none of the warranties are worth even a nickel. Don’t waste your money. Maybe “Jessey Jones” from King-5 News needs to know about this.
I am a gutter contractor in the northeast and have bin installing leaffilter since april 2005. I”ve had good success with it and my customers love it.I have to agree 100% with Jimmy.
I have had Leaf Filter on my home since March of ’09 and live on a heavily wooded lot in Falls Church Va. I have lots of pines and oaks all around my property. I used to have to go up on my roof at least 3 times a year to clean out the gutters. Since getting Leaf Filter put on my house I couldn’t be happier. All the water goes right through the screen every time, and the leaves come right off. Also, just a note, when my neighbors gutters came off during the winter, mine stayed on.
I have had Leaf Filter on my house 3 years and it still works great.
My husband and I had Leaf Filter installed on our 2 story house about 4 years ago. We live in North Bend, WA which gets heavy rainfall as well as lots of pine needles and leaves. Our problem is our composite roof grit. It washes down, makes a little dam and then the water cascades over it like a waterfall. I looked at our warantee and they said roof grit was included. When I called the company (3 times before somebody called me back) they said to call them every time it happens and they’ll send somebody out-really? That would be be weekly in the winter time. We arranged for somebody to come out today-they didn’t call first like they promised and nobody was home to meet them. We are now going to demand our money back in full and go with another company. Not happy with their service (or lack thereof) at all!!!!!