Cheap and Effective

From Pastor Scott in Seattle, WA:

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

From Margarethe:

I had a very bad experience with LeafGuard. The gutters never worked proberly ! Rather than fixing them, the company blamed it on my [...]]]> Here is a review of the LeafGuard gutter filter system as provided by a real owner.  Sounds like another argument for the cheapest possible Do-it-Yourself gutter guard system.

From Margarethe:

I had a very bad experience with LeafGuard. The gutters never worked proberly ! Rather than fixing them, the company blamed it on my roof. Eight different contractors said that my roof was not to blame, that the gutters were improperly installed. They need to be removed and put on correctly. The summer rains found water coming over the gutters as well as between the fascia and the gutter, as well as under the shingles, making a wet deck. This has caused the fascia to rot. In the winter, the water which was always pushed up under the shingles,summer and winter, froze. The ice dams melted slowly on warmer days, putting water on the sidewalks and at night this froze, so I had ice on the walks at my exits. It was a complete nightmare.

The company just stalled and wouldn’t answer most of my calls. I tried to work with them on a solution, but they just blamed the roof. When I thought that we had an agreement, they refused to put anything in writing. I gave up in dispair and disgust. I finally had to take them to small claims court where I won a judgment against them. Now, I can find a good contractor to remove and replace the gutters.

Customer service appears to be a foreign concept for them.

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.

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 [...]]]> Reader James writes the following review of the Leaf Filter gutter protection system:

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.

Jimmy, a self-identified LeafFilter installer (http://mynewgutters.com) offers the following rebuttal to Joe’s review:

I am a LeafFilter dealer/installer.  LeafFilter works perfectly with a metal roof.  It is the best gutter [...]]]> A while back, a reader named Joe posted a review of LeafFilter.  He wasn’t having the greatest experience.  He came away quite dissatisfied with the product.

Jimmy, a self-identified LeafFilter installer (http://mynewgutters.com) offers the following rebuttal to Joe’s review:

I am a LeafFilter dealer/installer.  LeafFilter works perfectly with a metal roof.  It is the best gutter guard on the market for a metal roof application.  The main reason is that it mounts just to the gutter.  It does not need to be mounted to the roof under the shingles like most gutter guards. The LeafFilter gutter guard is the only micro-filtration gutter guard that does not mount under the roof shingles.

I install it all the time on gutters that handle water from a metal roof.  It sounds like whoever installed the system [on your home] 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 which is a more porous filter that will handle the extra water flow.  90% of the time, this 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, in turn you will have more of a filter surface to handle the extra water flow.  If you have any 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 arises, it can be eradicated 100% of the time.  I believe LeafFilter is they best gutter guard on the market with over 700,000 ft installed personally from our company.  We never had a call back we could not fix and we never had a single clogged gutter!

While we admire Jimmy’s desire to back up his product, we at TheGutterClub have a known stance on “clogged gutters”.  This is never the issue.  The gutters don’t have to clog to be completely useless.  Over-shooting water is the main concern with gutter failure, and nobody ever wants to guarantee that this won’t happen.

But anyway, thanks Jimmy for your rebuttal.  Please let us know if you would like to share any of your other experiences in the field.

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 [...]]]> 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.

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.

Check it out for yourself!

Sample of some Leaf Guard complaints from PissedConsumer.com

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 [...]]]> 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.