Cheap and Effective

From Pastor Scott in Seattle, WA:

I just installed these a week ago, so don’t have a lot to report [...]

Here are some additional reader comments:

A recent article by Consumer Reports has made it into on-line news [...]]]> Here’s a little teaser we found on YouTube from Consumer Reports.  This is a very small video clip, but it almost says it all.  I’ve read many reviews of the iRobot Looj, and they are never favorable.  Too bad.

Here are some additional reader comments:

A recent article by Consumer Reports has made it into on-line news and news radio. The Looj has been grouped into a bunch of products that don’t work as well as advertised such as the Snuggie, Sham-wow, and Slap-Chop.

One thing they mentioned is the Looj requires multiple passes and throws debris back up on the roof. The next rain will but the debris right back in the gutter. I’m not sure what the infomercial claims.

And here’s another from the other side:

For what it’s worth….

I subscribe to Consumer Reports and find its information usually helpful, though sometimes wrong–as in the case of the Looj. I used a Looj on my 1-year-old gutters last fall. I found the Looj to be a useful tool, mostly because I made fewer trips moving and climbing up and down a ladder. Also, the Looj worked because my gutters did not have a lot of crud from years of neglect.

Perhaps, Consumer Reports simply mirrored the unrealistic expectations that many consumers have. However, as a testing lab and consumer advocate, it has a responsibility to tear down those unrealistic expectations and not evaluate a product through the lens of sci-fi expectations.

I think that with the Looj, Consumer Reports missed the point.

After over 20 years of cleaning my rain gutters, I’ve finally found [...]]]> A reader describes a product that allows the homeowner to clean their gutters from the ground using a wet/dry vacuum.  This sounds really interesting.  We need to research this and find out what it looks like, how it attaches, etc.  Thanks for the tip!

After over 20 years of cleaning my rain gutters, I’ve finally found the perfect method of keeping them clean without the use of a dangerous ladder.

I got a brand new, American Made, lightweight attachment tool, that should fit most standard 2.5″ wet/dry vacuum hoses. It is a one-piece, 60″ long, durable, pvc tool that fastens snugly onto the vac hose. When I put it into the rain gutter and turn my vac on, it literally vacuumed out all gutter debris, wet and dry junk, while I stayed firmly and safely on the ground. I saved myself money, time, energy, and most of all my own safety while doing a once nasty job that now is almost fun to do. This new rain gutter cleaning tool has been hailed as “the Best Gutter Cleaning Tool on the Market Today” and in my opinion it really is everything that other customers have said about it and more.. Check it out on their webpage and read all the comments and watch their videos and see why I’m so pleased with my find! C.J.

We found a picture of what this product might look like:

Looks unwieldy! And that's not a normal wet/dry vac.

There are attachment kits for single-story homes, but the thing pictured above appears to be a commercial product built for the task.  And even then, it still looks a little crazy.

Check out this handy video that explains the proceed such that any gutter newbie can take on the job. It’s [...]]]> Spring is coming fast. Along with the great weather comes lots of rain. Make sure your gutters are in good shape before the first major rain storm, and you’ll be a happy homeowner.

Check out this handy video that explains the proceed such that any gutter newbie can take on the job. It’s basically an advertisement from Lowes, but it still contains some great information and footage.

Cleaning gutters isn’t fun, but the payoff in water damage prevention is huge.

Fall 2009 [...]]]> I’ve had professional gutter leaf protection system installers tell me I’m crazy for eschewing their $3000 offerings and going for the $50 Do-It-Yourself options from Home Depot.  Don’t fall for their crap!  I’ve had the Home Depot options installed on my gutters for 1.5 years and here are the photographic results so far.

Fall 2009 - all leaves have fallen, this is what the filters look like

Photo #1 (above) – This is a section of gutter that have been protected by the Home Depot do-it-yourself option for 1.5 years.  After the three big overlying Oak trees have shed their thousands of leaves, this is the result.  The wind really does keep the filters clean!  At this time of year, without filters, the gutters would have been absolutely stuffed with leaves and debris.

Note that we’ve already raked the back yard over there.  If we hadn’t, it would be a solid carpet of leaves.

Some of the culprits that conspire to fill my gutters!

Photo #2 (above) – Looking up, we see two of the three very large Oak trees that bury us with leaves each Fall.  Notice that all the leaves are gone.

Peering into the gutter from Photo #1

Photo #3 (above) – Here we can see inside the gutter protected by about $20 worth of materials.  No leaves or any organic debris.  There is only a very fine layer of grit from the roof shingles.  Nothing at all to worry about.

Another section of DIY protected gutters - untouched

Photo #4 (above) – This is another section of our gutters being protected by another $20 worth of materials.  This was the first section to be installed, and I didn’t do such a great job.  You can see how much of a scoop there is to the material after the first section.  Big deal though!  Even though I didn’t do a great job, this is how the filter looks 1.5 years after installation and at the end of Fall!  Surprisingly, there are no piles of leaves stuck to the filters.  Only a few small sticks and seed pods.

Inside we find only a fine layer of grit.

Photo #5 (above) – Inside, the gutter is virtually pristine!  Only a fine layer of shingle grit.

Do you need to spend $3000-$4000 to have gutters that look like this?  No.  Don’t fall for the professional leaf protection installer’s sales pitch.

I know that no professional gutter system salesman wants to hear this, but so far it’s the truth.  Since installing those white plastic filter covers, [...]]]> I installed those cheap, plastic gutter filters from Home Depot on our gutters a little more than one year ago.  They are doing a fantastic job at keeping out gutters clean!

I know that no professional gutter system salesman wants to hear this, but so far it’s the truth.  Since installing those white plastic filter covers, my gutter maintenance has dropped to near zero.  Here is a picture of the leaf guards I am using right now.

This is the Home Depot leaf guard I currently have installed

I live beneath 3 giant oak trees and one medium maple.  They DUMP leaves on my house at this time of year.  In the past, I would have already cleaned out my gutters a couple of times by hand while struggling with a tall ladder all around my house.  So far I haven’t cleaned anything this year.  Sure, the leaves are currently piled up on the filters, but seriously, it only takes a week or so of breeze and weather to virtually clear them of loose debris.

I predict that I’ll only have to casually climb up there at the end of December to remove any leaf pieces that have become stuck vertically in the mesh… which is very few.  I’ll report back then.