Leaf Filter Review and Field Report

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:21:48 +0000

Reader, Mary Beth recounts her personal experience with Leaf Filter and her local installer. She isn’t very happy with the result.

I also had the Leaf Filter installed on my house in the winter of 2009. I live 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, Washington area.

I called the company because the system did not work on my house. So they 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 they did not work. Never heard from them.

So I called them again. They told me that they only guarantee 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 trying to figure out what to use that might work better.

This “no clog” guarantee is quite common with all of the various gutter guard technologies. It’s a guarantee that they can easily make and keep. The problem for home-owners is that the guarantee is almost completely useless! A gutter can be completely clog-free and still not work. A gutter is not working if the rain water is cascading over the top.

When they make a “no clog” guarantee, they only mean the INTERIOR of the gutters. If the filter, screen, curve, or whatever is on top of the gutter clogs up and causes the gutter to utterly fail… this doesn’t count.

Thoughts on Gutter Guard Systems

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:28:33 +0000

Professional gutter installer Rusty Shackleford offers some comments and advice for gutter guards in general. Some interesting thoughts here:

Here’s the skinny kiddo’s. The reverse curve system DOES NOT WORK! I’ve been a gutter installer for six years now, the last three have been working with leaf protection systems, in particular, K-Guard and Leaf Slugger.

Since November of 2006 I have subcontracted all of the warranty/service work for a couple of the big leaf protection devils… er, dealers…yeah, dealers. In less than a year, I have been to over 600 houses to service protected gutter systems… mostly K-Guard but also topper systems that install on existing ogee style gutters. They all clog!

Yes Joe, K-Guard does let in debris, but it does not flush them out! Have you ever taken the time to watch a gutter drain? There is nowhere near enough velocity in the water to flush the gutter. There is not enough room on a facia board to pitch a gutter enough to push debris out, most of it settles on the bottom of the gutter around the downspout outlet, starting the clogging process.

Most of the companies that sell these products are a bunch of crooks! They are companies owned and operated by SALESMAN, NOT TRADESMEN! They sell their systems for upwards of $40+ a foot! They justify it with a bogus lifetime warranty. All they are doing is selling a lifetime cleanout contract. Yeah, they will clean your gutters… when they feel like it!

Oh Yeah, reverse curve systems overshoot in a moderate heavy rain and do not work well on metal roofs or steep roofs. I have tested several systems out there and there is only one style that works… stainless steel micro-mesh systems. There are only four companies that I know of that produce these systems… they are Leaf Solution, Leaf Filter, Gutter Glove and Mastershield.

Leaf Solution, in my opinion has the smartest design. The one thing that these companies have in common is that they will all refund your money if your gutters ever clog. If these systems are installed properly, they will not clog. You can pile leaves and debris on top of them and they still take in all of the water. Take it from me, I have seen it all and tested it all, my mind really is in the gutter… week in and week out.

The Gutter Club » General Thoughts

Leaf Filter Review and Field Report

Thoughts on Gutter Guard Systems