What do gutter guards and gutter covers have to do with landscaping? Read on.

After three months of work, the landscaping was finally finished and it was beautiful. There were flowering annuals mixed among the junipers. The next day the annuals were all washed out from the rain water that gushed from clogged gutters on to the landscape.

Clogged overflowing gutters can ruin the prettiest of landscapes and wash away fertile soil. But that’s not all overflowing gutters can ruin. The overflowing rain water can be blown back into windows and siding where it can peel paint or even leak into the home.

But that’s not all! Water from overflowing gutters can rot out fascia board and even the rafter tails themselves resulting in thousands of dollars of damage. But it doesn’t end there, this wet environment is an ideal home for pests such as carpenter ants and even termites.

What’s the solution? Answer: It would seem obvious—have the gutters cleaned frequently. But that’s not always the best answer because in some environments there are so many trees that the gutters would have to be cleaned on a weekly basis in the fall and spring.

Another answer is to have gutter guards or gutter covers installed to keep leaves and debris from getting into the gutter. But hold on, you may think your problem is solved only to wake up one day and find black mold in your basement.

One of our customers had a popular gutter cover installed and thought just that—she had solved the overflowing gutter problem. A year later she found black mold in the basement. The entire finished basement had to be ripped out and treated. Unfortunately the gutter cover she chose failed and passed enough debris into the gutter that it clogged.

There are about one hundred different gutter covers in the market place from which to choose. How does one choose the one that won’t let the gutter get clogged and one that can easily be maintained from the ground.

The truth is that if the gutter cover doesn’t let the gutter clog, the openings in the gutter cover that allows water into the gutter will clog too.

Thus it’s important to:

1. choose a gutter cover that won’t let the gutter clog inside
2. choose a gutter guard so that you can see where the cover is clogged
3. choose a leaf guard that can easily be maintained from the ground by the homeowner.

There is one gutter guard that meets these criteria. It has a solid top which keeps out tree debris from falling into the gutter. It has a front vertical surface with two rows of interspersed louvers that limit the  size and amount of the debris that can enter the gutter. The louvers are easily seen from the ground and any debris that collects on them can be easily brushed away from the ground by the homeowner with a telescopic pole and brush. The advantage is that the homeowner is never at the mercy of the installing company for maintenance.

Richard Kuhns B.S.Ch.E. President and CEO of R.K. Industries manufacturer of the Waterloov® Gutter Protection System. To learn more please go tohttp://www.waterloov.com