Looking for the best gutter guard for pine needles? You have come to the write place. In this article we are going to show you what guards are supposed to do, what they fail to do and what happens in the end if you choose to use them. When something is advertised as “never clean your gutters again” you should always be hesitant. In fact, we have NEVER come across a gutter guard that lived up to the hype.
In this article we are going to discuss what is the best solution for pine needles in your gutters. The outline (if you want to skip ahead) is below:
- How gutter guards are supposed to work
- How guards can cause your gutter system to fail and have to be replaced
- Guards give you a false sense of security
- A better alternative to gutter guards
- The importance of gutter cleaning
How Gutter Guards Are Supposed to Work
Gutter guards, gutter screens, and anything else of this nature is designed to work by creating a physical barrier that will keep debris, such as pine needles, from getting into your gutters. In some cases, this barrier takes the form of a cover that is intended to block debris.
In other cases, it’s some type of screen or mesh. In either case, they don’t work the way that they claim, which means that spending your money on them is pretty much the same as just throwing your money away.
Why don’t gutter covers work? Well, the main reason is that anything covering your gutters are going to defeat the purpose of even having gutters in the first place. Is it possible to put a cover over your gutters that will keep pine needles from getting into them? Sure, it is.
But, the problem here is that the cover is also going to block water from getting into the gutters. That means that water is going to flow off of the side of your roof in an uncontrolled manner, which is what happens when you don’t have rain gutters. In other words, gutter covers essentially render your rain gutters useless.
Well, if gutter covers aren’t the answer, what about some type of gutter mesh? The problem here is twofold. First, gutter meshes cover your rain gutters and any mesh that is designed block something as small as a pine needle is also going to end up blocking a good amount of water. Then, you run into the same problem that you do with gutter covers in that water ends up flowing off of your roof in an uncontrolled manner.
Another problem you run into with a gutter mesh is that it can end up collapsing due to the weight of the debris on it and blocking your gutter. Unlike a blockage that happens more slowly over time, a blockage caused by something collapsing into your gutters is sudden.
That means you can end up having a catastrophic failure of your rain gutter, leading to water damage, and even the possibility of an ice damn forming.
Gutter Guards Can Shorten The Life Of Your Gutters
If you still aren’t convinced that gutter guards, screens, or covers are a bad idea then take a moment to think about how much it costs to repair or replace your gutters. Why is that relevant here? It’s relevant because any type of gutter protector you install is going to add weight to your gutters.
There’s a reason that your rain gutters are designed to be light, and that reason is that if they are too heavy they could detach from your home. Or collapse. In either case, these are both problems that will necessitate expensive repairs.
Gutter Guards Give You A False Sense of Security
One of the worst things that gutter guards do is give you a false sense of security. Depending on where you live you should probably have your gutters cleaned out at least twice a year. Most people that have some type of gutter protection system installed don’t adhere to this simple gutter cleaning rule because they think their gutters are protected.
That means that over time, your gutters could be getting clogged and damaged and you would have no way of knowing about it. That can cause them to fail unexpectedly, which can lead to expensive repairs being necessary.
How To Keep Pine Needles from Blocking Your Gutters?
Since gutter guards are not the answer to keeping your gutters and downspout clear of pine needles then, what other options are there out there? Well, there’s a really simple one that is proven to work, is inexpensive, and is also easily accomplished. What is this seemingly amazing solution? It’s called getting your gutters cleaned and inspected on a regular basis. That’s it, there’s no secret here.
Gutter guards and covers don’t work, gutter cleaning by a professional gutter cleaning service does work. That should make your decision here a fairly easy one.
The Importance of Hiring A Professional to Clean and Inspect Your Gutters
Once you realize that there is no such thing as the best gutter guard for pine needles, you’ll have taken a big step in the right direction. The next step you need to make is choosing a professional gutter cleaning company to come to your home. You shouldn’t try to clean your rain gutters yourself. You also shouldn’t hire a handyman to do the job for you. What you should do is hire a professional.
A professional gutter cleaning company, that is licensed, bonded, and insured is your best option. Having your gutters cleaned out twice a year really isn’t expensive when you think about how much it would cost you to actually replace your gutters altogether. Having your gutters cleaned by a professional is the only way you can expect to have your gutters last a long time.
There is no magic shortcut or magic product that is going to keep your gutters and downspouts free of pine needles and other debris. So, don’t waste your money on a product that won’t work, and instead
