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Your gutters help reduce the risk of damage to your home by directing water away from your foundation. When leaves and other debris fall into your gutters, they can become clogged, which prevents them from being able to do their job. Some homeowners use gutter guards in Rockford IL that claim to stop debris from filling up their gutters. However, most products that promise you’ll never need to clean your gutters again are misleading and could end up costing you.

What is a Gutter Guard?

A gutter guard is a gutter protection system that goes over your gutters to keep debris out. Although these products might be able to reduce the number of leaves and other debris that get into your gutters, they’re not foolproof. Some debris can build up over time and lead to clogged gutters. When this happens, rainwater isn’t able to flow through the gutters and downspout, which leads it away from your house. Instead, this water can back up under your roof eaves and into your home’s foundation. This can lead to extensive water and moisture damage, such as rotted wood or mold growth. In severe cases, this can cause structural damage or health issues.

How to Choose the Gutter Guard Material?

With the different gutter guard types in mind, it may seem simple to just pick a product and get started, but there are a few more things to consider, including the gutter guard material. The material used to make gutter guards in Rockford, IL can vary depending on the type of guards and the quality of the product. Common materials include stainless steel, copper, aluminum, plastics, and foam.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is a commonly used metal to make micro-mesh, screen, and reverse curve gutter guards. It’s one of the most durable options for gutter guards in Rockford, IL, though this tends to mean that stainless steel products are also more expensive. Stainless steel is resistant to rust, corrosion, and temperature extremes, preventing the gutter guards from expanding, warping, or cracking.

Copper is sometimes used to make the screen and micro-mesh gutter guards because it’s highly resistant to rusting and corrosion. These gutter guards are typically more resilient than any other type of guard, but they have a high price and few manufacturers actually produce these guards.

Aluminum

Aluminum is a more affordable metal material that’s used to make lightweight micro mesh and screen gutter guards. These guards are lightweight and not as durable as stainless steel or copper, but durability isn’t as important for homes that don’t have overhanging tree branches because there is less chance for branches, twigs, and other hard objects to pierce through the guard.

Plastics

Plastics are regularly used to make the frame of gutter guards and for both reverse curve and brush guards. However, brush guards do typically have stainless steel or an aluminum core, but the brush bristles are usually made from polypropylene. Plastic is inexpensive, and it doesn’t rust or corrode. The drawback to plastic is that it’s prone to swelling and cracking.

Foam is the only material used in foam gutter guards. The entire guard is essentially a block of foam that allows water to filter through the materials while preventing large debris from falling into the gutter. Foam is an inexpensive, durable material, but it is susceptible to mold growth.