I have two different types on my home. On the sun-room the aluminum style
and no guards on the flat section. As, no trees to worry about. Though I
took some screen and made my own screen cover for the down spout. In general
that works. What I get in this is mostly dirt and once a month, Spring
summer and early fall, temperature allows I wash them down with a water-hose
and brush. The brush that I found the best? the same kind used for toilet
bowls (Stiff Bristle) and kept in the garage . All my tools have set places
and easy to find.
On the garage and the front of the house. I have the heavy duty plastic
gutters and the guards that either can be snapped in or slide in while the
sections are apart. These, guards are with small dime size holes in it. For
the most part they work in keeping a lot of leaves out of them. The problem
is the city has planted crab apple trees and the blossom's sometimes get
through the holes and or on a strong windy day I have to check for broken
branches stuck in them. With the use of a good extension ladder and first
time out a sited person giving a hand. Since then I put them up myself and
take them down myself.
It is a easy being careful thing to do to snap them into place and unsnap
them and take them down. Warm day! I've learned it is a lot tougher putting
them up on a cold day. The front of the house is 50 feet up and the garage
area a good size step ladder works fine!
Some people ask why I take them down. Well, here in the Northeast, one never
knows what the weather is going to be. Like this year can be lots of rain
and freezing rain. Causing a lot of ice and that is a lot of weight. The
other is the snow build up and it's weight. The last thing if left there,
I've seen work under the shingles and eve of that area and do a lot of
damage. So, for myself, I don't mind going up and taking them down. That is
why I went with the heavy duty plastic gutters, their covers and the
snaps/hook to fasten into place and their connectors. I've been doing this
with the same gutters since 1995 with no issues.
Geno 28/November/06 4:18 PM
