The earliest gutter protection systems were simply mesh and screen covers placed over standard gutters. While these did help keep leaves and other debris out of the gutters, they didn’t do anything about the debris piling up on top of the screens. You still had to get up on a ladder or crawl out on your roof a few times each year to scrape the matted leaves off the screens. If you didn’t, the build-up of decaying leaves could not only keep leaves out of your gutter, it could keep the water out as well, causing overflows of water instead of channeling the water through the screen and into the gutter.

Today’s gutter protection systems are much more efficient. They not only keep debris out of your gutters so water can flow freely, they keep the debris from piling up over the gutters or along your roofline. You no longer have to bother with venturing onto your roof or a ladder to try and clear away the debris.

Gutter protection systems now use the physics of “surface tension” or “liquid adhesion” to direct water into the gutters while allowing debris to wash off of the roof and fall to the ground. Surface tension is simply the quality in water that keeps it adhering to the surface of a hard object. When material such as a gutter shield is curved, the water will naturally flow around the curve into it reaches the bottom of the object, where it will fall away.

Gutter protection systems use this to channel water into your gutters. Since the gutter shield or guard hang out over your gutter, any leaves, twigs, dirt or other small objects won’t be able to reach the gutter. Instead, the flow of water will direct the debris out and over the gutter and onto the ground. The water will flow around the curved end of the guard and then flow into the gutters.

Gutter protection systems using surface tension have become a simple and elegant solution to the problem of clogged gutters and overflow. Investing in a gutter protection system today will give you years of clog-free, maintenance free gutters, reducing potential repair bills and giving you peace of mind.