3 Surprising Gutter Guard Benefits

Your gutters perform the important job of directing rainwater away from your home’s foundation, roof, and exterior to prevent costly water damage. However, debris that accumulates in your gutters can clog them and keep them from functioning properly. Gutter guards are one solution that can help prevent clogs. Gutter guards vary in design, but many are mesh screens that go over your gutter openings to keep debris out of them while allowing water in.

By keeping debris out of your gutters, these guards can prevent gutter clogs and reduce the time you spend cleaning your gutters to remove debris by hand. However, gutter guards also offer homeowners several other surprising benefits. 

Learn about three surprising gutter guard benefits you should keep in mind when considering adding gutter guard protection.

1. Ward Off Ice Dams

During the winter, ice dams can develop on roofs. These dams are large mounds of ice that form when snow on the roof melts, flows to a cooler area of the roof, and refreezes. When located along the perimeter of a roof, ice dams often block the flow of water off the roof. When water pools on a roof instead of flowing freely off it, it can seep underneath shingles, into roof decking, and eventually into the home itself.

Gutters clogged with debris can contribute to ice dam formation by blocking the flow of melted snow through them. When melted snow cannot freely flow through your gutters, it can freeze inside of them and create an ice dam. 

Gutter guard installation can prevent many ice dams by keeping debris out of your gutters during the winter so no clogs develop.

2. Reduce the Chance of Gutter Sag

One relatively common gutter problem is gutter sag. While gutters can begin to sag for a variety of reasons, gutter sag often develops when gutters frequently hold more weight than they were designed to. Excess weight places stress on gutter hangars that can cause them to separate from a home’s fascia or roof over time. 

The debris that accumulates in your gutter system can be heavier than many homeowners realize, especially when this debris becomes wet. In addition, when this debris causes gutters to clog, standing water and the ice it can turn into during the winter remains in your gutters much longer than usual, placing additional stress on your gutter attachment system.

Gutter guards help prevent gutter sag by keeping your gutters free from heavy debris and the blockages they can cause.

3. Prevent Rust 

If your gutters are steel or any other type of metal that can rust, taking steps to ward off rust development can greatly extend the lifespan of your home gutter system. Rust develops when the iron that some metals have chemically reacts with oxygen and water molecules to form iron oxide. Small areas of rust that develop on your gutters can quickly turn into holes if not repaired quickly. 

While you can discourage gutter rust in many ways, one way is to ensure water flows freely through them at all times. Rust tends to develop more often on gutters that develop frequent clogs due to standing water inside of the gutters. When metal gutters have water for long periods of time, the chemical reaction that forms rust occurs continuously instead of for just a short period of time.

Also, since debris inside of your gutters typically take much longer to dry after it rains than the gutters themselves, keeping debris out of your gutters can also prevent rust formation. Gutter guards can help you achieve both of these goals. 

All homeowners should strive to keep their gutters free from debris to help prevent gutter problems. If you want to reduce the time you spend cleaning debris out of your gutters, then contact the gutter experts at Done Right Home Improvements, to schedule gutter guard installation today.