Here’s what Gutter Cover Company owner Jim Carbone has learned after 25 years in the business—and what you need to know

By Jim Carbone, Gutter Cover Company

After more than 25 years in the gutter protection business, the most common question we still get today is: “Do these things actually work?” After all, most of our customers have already tried one or more types of gutter screens or filters and are skeptical—because nothing they’ve tried seemed to do the job.

Honestly, I don’t blame them. It’s a dangerous and sometimes difficult job to install gutter protection correctly, so when the first or second attempt fails, it can be beyond frustrating. Here, we’re going to share what we’ve learned from our thousands of local customers and our experiences replacing many types of gutter protection systems since 1998.

The Purpose of Gutter Guards
First, the purpose of any gutter guard is to keep debris out while still allowing rainwater to flow through the clean gutter. If a ladder must be climbed to maintain that function, the system has certainly failed. While no product is perfect, a successful gutter protection system is supposed to keep us off the ladder and be a permanent solution, not create the new chore of cleaning the gutter screens, which can be more time- consuming than cleaning an open gutter.

This goal seems simple enough, but there are many different types of debris in many different sizes. For example, this year we have seen an abundance of maple spinners (or as my daughter calls them, “helicopters”) and we all know those pesky things accumulate on top of gutters and get stuck in the screens. At first glance, that might give the impression that the screen is working, but remember, the goal is to allow rainwater in. Those spinners are clogging up the screen holes, forcing the water to overflow the gutter and onto the home’s foundation.

They then need maintenance, which involves the ladder, thus defeating the purpose of installing gutter guards in the first place. Those who have tried different types of screens would mostly agree that they indeed are not a permanent solution.

Filters Must Be Cleaned
These days we see stainless steel microfilters advertised most frequently. While this design does a fine job of preventing anything from entering the gutter, the filter may need regular cleanings to allow the rainwater to drain through it. A filter’s job is to trap small organic debris and dirt, and most filters in our lives (dryer, furnace, refrigerator, etc.) need to be cleaned or replaced at some point. Having a gutter filter installed on a notoriously filthy gutter can create a not-so-pleasant maintenance regimen. Many of these microfilter manufacturers recommend cleaning the filter with a brush and light dish soap solution. Imagine now having to climb a ladder with a bucket of soapy water and a brush. That sounds far worse than just cleaning the gutters.

Why Gutter Topper Works So Well
Gutter Cover Company is celebrating our 25th year in business which make us one of the longest tenured gutter protection companies in Ohio. We’ve survived and thrived this long by treating our customers with respect and installing what we feel is the most effective solution on the market to this day—Gutter Topper. We still communicate with some of our customers from the ’90s and they still have the Gutter Topper, and it still works.

The key to success is in its strategically engineered, self-shedding design. Gutter Topper features a smooth and sloped aluminum top (not a filter or screen), which helps debris slide off the cover and not enter the gutter. This allows rainwater to be directed into the clean gutter where it belongs.

Gutter Topper works great for shedding maple spinners, pine needles, tassels, seed pods, shingle grit, and all the other tiny gutter cloggers that a screen usually struggles with.

Manufactured right here in Ohio, Gutter Topper was built to thrive in our weather. Independent testing shows that it can handle 110-mph winds and 300 pounds of weight per foot in the winter. Other covers can bow under the weight of snow and ice, and lose their shape and ability to function in the spring. Gutter Topper can also handle a tremendous amount of rain per hour without failing.

Professional Installation
Gutter Topper is installed over existing gutters (new seamless gutters are also available, if needed) and each installation starts with a free gutter tune-up that includes the following services:

• Check and clean out the existing gutters and downspouts to ground level, as needed
• Reseal any joints of gutters and end caps
• Check tightness and slope alignment of the gutter and adjust/tighten as needed

Once the job is done, a lifetime transferable warranty ensures that the gutters will be free-flowing forever. Gutter Topper is available in 14 colors and even has a patented “bird block” to keep the birds out.

Prevent Ice Dams
For those who have a history of ice dams, we offer a gutter heating product called Heater Cap. Last winter was unusually mild which often means a hard, snowy winter is coming this year. Now is the best time to prepare your gutters to combat it. Heater Cap works great with Gutter Topper and is designed for problem areas so there’s no need to install it on the entire house. It is a safe, reliable, and concealed self-regulating heat cable that is encapsulated under an aluminum plate. The gentle heat spreads throughout the aluminum and continues inside the gutter and downspouts. We often heat roof valleys, open gutters and many existing gutter guards.

We are proud to have installed our Heater Cap on many area homes, plus multiple local churches, school buildings, fire stations and other businesses. We often remove those old zigzag roof wires, and our customers are amazed at the massive upgrade in performance and professional appearance. Heater Cap can also be added later, and the controls are located inside the warmth of your home.

What product might be best for your home? Give us a call at Gutter Cover Company to schedule a free, informative, casual, and most importantly, no-pressure estimate.

For more information or to schedule your free estimate, call 440-366-0688 or 1-800-335-4367, or visit GutterGuard1.com.