Never Clean Your Gutters AgainGutter Guard Installation in Winterset, IA

How to tell your existing guards have failed

Guards fail quietly, because their whole purpose is to stop you looking. The clearest sign is water coming over the front edge in a rain that used to be handled, particularly if it is happening in one spot rather than along the whole run. Another is a downspout that runs weakly or not at all while the others are flowing, which means water is being stopped somewhere upstream of it. Look along the gutter line from the ground for any section that has begun to sag, since that is either weight sitting in the trough or a hanger that has released. Green growth visible on top of a guard means a layer of decayed material has built up and is holding moisture, which is a filter that has stopped filtering. Streaking down the outside face of the gutter, or a washed-out line in the bed below it, both point to persistent overflow. Any one of these is worth an inspection before it becomes fascia work.