Maintenance-Free Gutters Don’t Mean You Can Ignore This Vital Practice
As a homeowner, you probably have much better ways to spend a weekend than by cleaning out your gutters. After all, gutter maintenance can be tedious and dirty work—even if you know it’s crucial to protect your home. By now, you may have heard of maintenance-free gutters—gutter systems with guards that keep out debris and prevent clogs. Does installing these mean you’ll never have to worry about gutter maintenance again?
As the leading gutter specialists in San Antonio, our team at River City Gutters is here to tell you that no gutters are truly maintenance-free. Gutter guards, also known as leaf guards, can certainly reduce the amount of cleaning and maintenance required for your gutters. However, even with gutter guards, you’ll never want to skip regular gutter maintenance tasks. Here’s why.
What Are Gutter Guards?
Gutter guards, or leaf guards, are designed to provide needed protection against debris for gutters. While they come in many forms (you can learn more about each on our leaf guards page), generally they are a form of screen covering the open area of your gutter.
The main purpose of gutter guards is to act like a filter that will keep leaves and other debris out of your gutters. When left to their own devices, gutters will accumulate debris with time, resulting in clogs that can cause overflows and damage to your property. This is especially true if your property has a lot of nearby trees, which create high amounts of debris throughout the year. Gutter guards help to avoid this situation.
Are Gutters with Guards “Maintenance Free”? 
No gutters are entirely maintenance-free, and that definitely applies to gutter systems with guards installed. While gutter guards can reduce the frequency of the inside of your gutters need to be cleaned, there are two important points to keep in mind.
One is that no leaf guards are impervious, and some debris is likely to get through to your gutters. Even small particulates (like dirt) can build up and create clogs, with time.
The other is that gutter guards themselves must be maintained. While gutter guards will keep leaves and debris out of your gutters, that debris has a tendency to collect on top of the leaf guards instead. This can interfere with the flow of rainwater, leading to overflows or even water accumulating along the eaves of your roof.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gutter Guards
We feel it’s easier to evaluate gutter guards more fairly when we push aside the claim that they make your gutters maintenance-free. After all, there are many advantages to installing gutter or leaf guards, which is why we offer leaf guard installation as a service at River City Gutters.
Some of the advantages of leaf guards include preventing most debris from entering your gutters, and pests (such as birds and rodents) out of your gutter system, and strengthening your gutters overall.
Disadvantages to keep in mind, however, include:
- increased costs compared to gutters without guards
- potential for overflowing during heavy rains (as gutter guards will impede water flow)
- potential for a “false sense of security,” leading to neglect and poor maintenance of your gutter system
We generally feel the positive aspects of leaf guards outweigh the drawbacks for most homeowners. However, they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution—and they certainly won’t make your gutters suddenly maintenance-free. That means that, yes, you will still have to clean them regularly!
More Questions About Gutter Maintenance? Call River City Gutters
At River City Gutters, we’re reminded of the importance of gutter maintenance time and again. Too often we get calls about leaking, overflowing, and damaged gutters with problems that arose due to neglect and poor maintenance. Unfortunately, this often leads to other issues, such as stained siding or even roofing problems.
Whether you have leaf guards installed or not, gutter maintenance is essential to effectively protecting your home from rainwater throughout the year. If you’re experiencing gutter troubles—or you’re interested in reducing maintenance demands with leaf guards—reach out to our team to schedule a consultation.
