How To Maintain Your Gutter Guard By Robert Lenney

Robert Lenney is a 7 time U.S. Patent holder in gutter guard design, co-author and leading authority on gutter cleaning. His gutter guards have been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, This New House, Renovation Nation, Cool Tools and more. His gutter clean-ing tips are seen in ConsumerReports.org, various TV network broadcasts and many newspapers throughout the U.S.

“To have a successful performing gutter guard, homeowners need to know how to take care of it and realize there is no such thing as a self cleaning gutter cover.” … Robert Lenney

Before I share some tips on how to get decades of high quality perfor-mance out of my LeafBlaster Gutterguard, I want to dispel a HUGE myth.

MYTH: Gutter guards are self cleaning and maintenance free. FACT: This is not true. This is marketing hype propaganda voiced by some very dishonest gutter guard manufacturers because they feared nobody would buy their gutter guards if they mentioned the truth.

I’ve been in the guttering industry since 1996 and have cleaned out millions of feet of gutter. I’ve seen every gutter guard un-der the sun while cleaning out gutters. That’s right, I cleaned out gutters that had a gutter guard on it, every kind of gutter guard you can imagine! The gutter guards didn’t work because of poor design and because the manufacturer didn’t tell the homeowner how to maintain it. Their mistakes allowed me to understand how to design a properly functioning gutter guard.

My patented LeafBlaster Gutterguard incorporates a unique design so that it’s super easy to maintain. Follow these tips below for keeping your gutter guard filtering rainwater properly for decades to come. These tips apply to any gutter guard! What do I do if I notice rainwater flowing over my gutter?

Look on top of the cover and see if there is any debris on it. Generally, the first cause of rainwater coming over the gutter is because there is debris on it. With LeafBlaster, the combination of the winds and the rains blow most of the debris off. Be-cause of your land topography and other factors, if your home is situated in such a way that the winds and rains don’t offer the benefits of blowing off the debris, you may have to lend a hand and clean some of that off from time to time.

Take a brush and screw it on the end of an extension pole, and from the ground (without having to get on your roof), just reach up and brush off the mesh. This type of brush can be purchased at most hardware stores.

How do I make sure that rainwater runs smoothly down my inside-miter of my gutter? I need to mention that all gutter guards are challenged by inside miters. There is no inside miter contraption that eliminates maintenance from these areas. In this situation you may consider having a water diverter installed to reduce maintenance.

A water diverter helps disperse rainwater over a wider area rather than at one point. The diverter is made out of an aluminum material, perforated with small round holes and attaches to the end of your roof valley just above the stainless steel mesh. You can get more information on my water diverters at www.RainwaterDiverters.com.

The diverter will eventually collect debris behind it, so at some point you would need to clean that out to make sure that rain-water is always flowing smoothly without being blocked and doesn’t wick back up into your roof shingles. Cleaning behind the diverter is very infrequent. The diverter will significantly reduce any maintenance needed for brushing off these corners.

You can contact your installer as they may be able to install these for you.

Ice & Snow Issues: Convert LeafBlaster Gutterguard into a heated gutter guard and melt away those annoying icicles, ice dams and snow loads that can accumulate on any gutter guard. For more information, please visit my website www.IceMeltCover.com or email me at Info@LeafBlaster.com.