The Ultimate Gutter Shield: How To Shield Your Gutters From Leaves and Muck

Gutters get dirty. That's inevitable. But there are steps you can take to keep them as clean as possible. This not only extends the life of your gutters, it keeps you from constantly going up and down a ladder trying to keep your gutters clean. The best medicine is always preventative medicine, and here's what you need, in a handy checklist.

• Trim any branches that may be hanging over your roof.  Not only will this protect your roof, it'll keep those branches from raining leaves into your gutters.
• Clean any debris off your roof before it has a chance to wash down in your gutters.  This means leaves, sticks, tree limbs, or children’s toys.
• While you're up there, check your roof closely for worn, warped, or split shingles.  A lot of crud actually washes out of your shingles in the first place, and you should make sure you're not running into any problems along those lines already.  This has the added benefit of making sure your roof is in good shape before any rain or snow comes along.
• Install animal deterrence systems.  Animals, especially birds, can bring a lot of garbage onto your roof if they think it's a nice home, and their feces can wash into your gutter, even corrode the metal depending on the animal and the type of gutter.  Gutter shields screen away any tempting areas to build a nest, such as under the eaves, and install deterrents like plastic owls to drive away annoying birds.  It'll save you some time on the phone with animal control, and plenty more aggravation.
• With snow and ice come particles and dirt suspended in them, that is, future gutter crud.  They can also wear away at your shingles, especially if an ice dam forms.  Install cleats in your roof to break up ice dams and help snow slide off quickly, and consider ice-melting systems.
• It goes without saying, but always shovel off your roof after a major snowstorm, even if you have cleats.
• Don't forget your downspouts!  Check your downspouts regularly to make sure no muck or piles of leaves have collected at the bottom of the spout.  Otherwise, your gutter may back up and even clean gutters have a problem with that.
• And, finally, consider installing a gutter shield system like our very own Gutter Helmet.  You can't spend all your time up on the roof, pushing leaves and other muck away, and this is where Gutter Helmet comes in.  Leaves and other debris just can't get into your gutters, while water flows into your gutters and out your downspouts.  We may be biased, but it makes sense to us: you'll have less leaves and muck when it's harder for leaves and muck to get in there in the first place.