LeafsOut 5” WIDE, DIY Micro Mesh Rain Gutter Guard System – 100' LONG, Stainless Steel

I bought these to combat a pine needle problem and while they are effective for that, what the product has a problem with is rainfall. (go figure)These are a good idea in theory, and for small amounts of water flow, they do work "ok"... however, given any decent amount of rainfall and the water's flow is more than the leafsout can manage, causing the water to cascade right over the edge. That wasn't my biggest gripe... Now, after some age, (see: about a year or so) the normal dirt & debris accumulation has formed a "mud" clogging the mesh rendering the product completely useless. Due to the "mud", the rainwater now cascades over the gutter's edge because it no longer can seep through the (now clogged) mesh.

I installed these a year ago in September of 2016. We are in Houston, and a year later, the attached images show what they look like after Hurricane Harvey and three days of rain and storms leading to an 800 year flood. They look pretty good, huh?Over the years, I've used everything available for my gutters, from nothing but periodic cleaning to several different varieties of screens. Until I moved to Houston, I'd given up on screens, as they invariably let the gutter fill up with fine material and just make it harder to clean out. That is not the case with these, which I was motivated to try out after experiencing a few tropical storms down here. These microscreens do gather a but of fine granular material over time, but a big enough rain will wash them clean again (that's the crud visible on the sides of the gutters in two of my images).I installed these myself over a weekend using a few simple tools. I also installed Barnett's Valley Controllers on the inside corners, but I quickly removed them because--like most cheaper gutter screens--they let debris pile up underneath them and give you no way to remove it without a complete uninstall/reinstall. So, I ditched the valley controllers and reinstalled the standard aluminum splash guards that the gutter installers had used. As you can see in one of the images, those also trap debris, but it doesn't get a chance to build up. Normal wind and rain quickly wash it away.Where splash guards meet a wall, it's easier for debris to build up, so I jury-rigged a leaf guard using cheap vinvyl gutter screens from the hardware store. Leaf's out screen would also have worked for this application, and I really wish the manufacturer sold larger (2' x 3') mesh panels for this sort of application, but these were quick and easy and have proven very satisfactory.In the spring, I cleaned my gutters using the pressure washer (which I had out for cleaning the driveway anyhow) and a shepherd's hook shaped wand from the hardware store. That did a fine job of quickly cleaning the screens and splash guards and eliminating the fine debris from the mesh. I believe that doing this annually will also be sufficient to keep any debris that manages to get through the screens from building up.So far, these have worked better than I'd have hopes for, and easily handled the 2-3 inches per hour we received during Harvey.Just follow the directions on YouTube and bend the ends slightly so each section presses against the next and no gaps are created that might guide debris under the edge of a section (or let wasps get underneath). I've had no problem with either.One issue I had was water building up behind my splash guards, running down the outer lip of the screen, and pouring out over the gutter. I used a little dab of gutter sealant to dam this water up and send it back into the gutter. Now there is only a drip even in the heaviest rainstorm.

These micro mesh gutter guards work very well on my 2-story colonial with a 5/12 roof pitch. I have 5" Ogee gutters and the 5" wide sections work. I have a 44' gutter run to the downspouts. So, at the high end I slid them under the asphalt starter strip. But near the low end where the downspout drains, they were attached to the fascia behind the gutter. Suggestion: Where the sections meet and overlap, the mesh tends to flare up and catches blown leaves and needles, To prevent this, bend the top mesh section down (about a 1/4") with pliers at the overlap - it will intertwine with the bottom mesh and create a smooth transition where leaves and debris can't collect.

The media could not be loaded.  My back gutter has been a mess for years primarily due to huge pine and cottonwood trees plus a nasty 1985 gutter. I finally installed a new gutter with an engineered drainage system. When I asked the contractor about leaf guards, he said that unfortunately he has never been able to find a good one, especially for pine needles. The best he could recommend would be the foam insert types. So I started researching. The foam gutter guards were very expensive and based on the reviews, turn to dust after a few years. Not for me. Based on the reviews I decided to try LeafsOut. I could not be happier. The product was quite simple to install. It did not take me very long to cover my 50' gutter. I was a little worried about the water "over-topping" the screen. I have observed the product carefully now for two summer thunderstorms and it has worked very well despite something of a steep pitch. The water drips off the roof and quickly infiltrates right through the screen and into the gutter. I have not seen any over-topping. See my video. Leaves, needles, litter, and even sand from my shingles stay out and blow away. This product should last many years, require minimal maintenance, and is a far better value than any competing product I could see through my research. Buy with confidence.