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In certain areas of the country it's important to collect rain water which is done by using a cistern or in many cases rain barrels. Cisterns are usually underground tanks that can hold upward of five thousand gallons of water whereas rain barrels are exactly that—an above ground barrel holding around 55 gallons. Decorative barrels are available. Rain water is collected by the gutters which collect run off water from the building's roof. In cases where there is tree debris the quality of the collected water can be compromised by decaying debris from tree leaves and tree debris. It makes sense to choose a rain gutter cover that will clarify the rain water and exclude the highest percent of tree debris. There are several basic types of gutter guards and gutter covers. However, if there is substantial tree debris, there's only one design that makes sense. First let's rule out basic gutter screens—they simply admit too much debris into the gutter. Try them out if you like but the problem is that you'll have a lot of gunk to clean from the cistern—it's not worth the risk since you've already spent thousands of dollars having the cistern installed. Then there's the fine mesh they claim made from surgical stainless steel that lets practically nothing into the gutter. Yes they will keep your gutters as clean as possible and in turn your cistern will stay clean. However, you'll want to consider that debris will accumulate on top of the mesh and not be visible from the ground. Things will be fine for a year or two until the debris literally collects in sufficient quantity to form a barrier to the water getting through the mesh. This means someone has to clean off the top of the mesh and that may not be easy if you take a moment to ask: 1. How can you tell where is the debris collecting? 2. How are you going to remove the debris from the ground with a brush? 3. How do you know if you've removed a sufficient amount of debris to allow the water to get through the screen. The result is sketchy and uncertain. Unless you're there to observe the rain you won't know where the gutter is overflowing. They are expensive and leave a lot of doubt. Brushes in the gutter collect a lot of debris that require constant maintenance. They are cheap to install and expensive to maintain. Foam in the gutter will also accumulate debris on top and eventually block the water from getting into the gutter for collection. This leaves the solid top gutter systems of which there are three basic designs. Google “Niagara gutter cover” and you'll find a basic fin type design. There are several major manufacturers that use this same basic design and some sell for over twenty dollars per foot. If light debris conditions you'll keep your cistern clean but with heavy debris conditions enough debris will wash over the fin and enter the gutter to both clog the gutter and pollute the cistern or rain barrel. Google "care free vinyl gutter covers" and you'll find a fundamental improvement in design over the Niagara type of gutter guard. The Care-Free gutter guard, available in both aluminum and vinyl, uses a single row of louvers to collect water rather than the single fin Niagara type of gutter guard. Some single fin types have troughs instead of louvers and the result is the same. In medium debris conditions they will work well, but in heavy debris conditions excess debris will be passed into the gutter and or clog the openings of the gutter cover itself. In the case of the Care-Free type of gutter cover clogged louvers can be cleaned with a telescopic pole and brush from the ground, but the bigger problem is the excessive amount of decaying debris that gets into the cistern. A superior design to the Care-Free gutter cover is the best double row louvered gutter guard as you'll find in two types of gutter protectors—google the “Waterloov Leaf Guard” and the “Number One Gutter Protector” to see the difference between a single row louvered gutter guard and the best gutter covers with two rows of louvers. Whereas the Niagara single fin type of leaf guard keeps out approximately 92% of the debris, the single row louvered CareFree Gutter Guard keeps out approximately 96% and the double row louvered Waterloov and Number One Gutter protectors keep out over 99.5% of the debris. With regard to the louvers of the water collectors clogging, they can easily be seen from the ground and brushed (cleaned) with a telescopic pole and brush assembly. In summary, it makes sense to install the double row louvered--the best gutter guard--system that will keep the most debris out of your gutter and still be easy to maintain from the ground. Richard Kuhns B.S.Ch.E. Engineer and inventor of good gutter guards at http://www.niagaraguttercover.com better gutter guards at http://www.carefreegutters.com/ and the best gutter guards at http://www.Waterloov.com and http://www.NumberOneGutterProtector.com
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