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Does Leaf Filter gutter guard work? Perhaps, but I will never recommend you buy it. Here’s why: The measure of a good product lies both in its quality and its credibility. Leaf Filter seems to make a well-made and functional product — but if you want to buy it, get ready to be “sold“.
My Leaf Filter Experience
At a recent community festival, I stopped by a Leaf Filter North promotional booth. I asked the representative the first question any consumer would ask: what’s the approximate cost of the Leaf Filter gutter protection product? Unbelievably, the rep claimed he had “no idea”. That’s right, he claimed not to have a clue. Prodding, I asked, “more than $10 per foot, less than $100?” He doubled down with the claim that he “didn’t know”. He went on to explain all the variables that might impact pricing, like roof height and so on.
I decided to play along. “Ok”, I said, “how about if I have a ranch, one story tall that has two gutters 50 feet long for each side with a total of 4 spouts?” A pretty simple example, right? But once again, he said he’d really have to have an estimator come look at the job. Needless to say, he wasn’t going to make a close on me.
So, why would a company offer such a clueless response? Well, they are not clueless at all, but they sure hope you might be.
Tom Kraeutler, Nationally Syndicated Home Improvement Radio Host
You see, gutter guard companies like this want to get into the position where they can SELL, SELL, SELL you. Refusing to offer a mere range of costs for a simple product like this until they see your house is a tactic used to hopefully get them in the door, where they can really push for the sale.
Some even take antiquated, insulting approaches. One company reportedly refused to provide a Leaf Filter system estimate unless the prospective customer’s wife was present. Aside from the tone-deaf request, this is a tactic from Hard Sales 101: They want both “decision makers” in the room.
Recently, friend of The Money Pit and fellow home improvement guru Tim Carter of Ask The Builder conducted a study to determine the cost of gutter protection system installations across the U.S. From Washington to Ohio to the Hudson Valley, it seems nobody is immune to gutter protection scams. Shockingly, the prices reported by Tim’s subscribers ranged from $1.16 to a whopping $90 per foot! Even the average cost per foot came in at $20, which was still way too expensive for this project.
Another report by HomeAdvisor revealed more reasonable pricing finding the cost of gutter guards ranged between $1.20 and $10 per lineal foot. Contractors who advertise their services on HomeAdvisor live or die by consumer reviews. So, no surprise that this data reflects what should be closer to fair pricing for this project. Any contractor charging the crazy prices Ask the Builder reported would not have fared very well in customer feedback!
As consumers, we may be ready to buy…but nobody wants to be sold. Fortunately today, any homeowner can get a good product at a low cost.
Tom Kraeutler, Nationally Syndicated Home Improvement Radio Host
Why Are Clean Gutters Important?
So, are gutter guards really necessary? Let’s review why gutters are important.
Gutters perform one duty: controlling the water around your home. If debris keeps gutters from doing their job, you can wind up with some serious problems. These are just a few:
Flooded Basements
Gutter clogs are the number one cause of basement flooding. When gutters are clogged, gutters leak! Roof water from light showers to heavy rain can overflow and accumulate around the foundation. This can cause basements, as well as crawlspaces, to be damp, leaks, or totally and completely flood!
Cracked Foundations
Excess water against the foundation wall can weaken the footing and lead to foundation wall cracks. This is particularly true in the colder months when built-up water at the foundation freezes and causes something known as “frost-heave” which can cause severe cracks to foundation walls. Even in the warmer weather, water that circulates in and around your foundation makes the soil less stable, and can lead to shifts that result in serious cracks.
Leaking Roofs
Icicles on your gutter system might look pretty and idyllic in the winter, but will only make your roofer happy. Ice dams can form when melted snow runs down the roof and build up across the top of the clogged gutter and freeze. During the next thaw, water running off the roof is blocked by the frozen “dam” and backs up into the house! This can lead to major wall and ceiling damage. Aside from the need to clean gutters, the only other repair is to remove the roof and add ice and water shield, a roof material that is installed under the roof shingles to prevent water from leaking back up under shingles.
Slippery Walks and Driveways
Overflowing gutters can deposit water on walks and driveways where it can freeze and cause a slipping hazard. Clear gutters protect you and your family from serious injury.
Clogged gutters cause all this, plus can lead to rotted wood, an increased risk of wood-destroying insect infections like termites and carpenter ants and even washed-out landscaping! Bottom line, keeping your gutters clean and free flowing is an important part of your home maintenance. Here are other ways to maintain clean gutters without overpaying in the process.
3 Ways to Stop Clogged Gutters: With or Without Gutter Guards
Cleaning your gutters is necessary to prevent a myriad of issues like the ones listed above. But gutter cleaning can be tedious and exhausting, especially if you do it yourself every year. Luckily there are tons of gutter protection systems you can use that don’t have a complicated installation process.
DIY Install: Micromesh
Micromesh, an amazing superfine stainless steel mesh gutter guard. The mesh covers the top of the gutter but has hundreds of tiny holes that block all types of debris from pine needles to even sand. Micromesh gutter guard systems are widely available at stores like The Home Depot and even Costco who sell micro-mesh gutter guards for $2 a foot! Installation is an easy DIY project, or hire a handyman to install them for you. You simply don’t need a gutter guard company to do it, especially when they charge an outrageous price.
Best Gutter Guard for DIY’rs: Our Recommendation
We’ve found this particular stainless steel micro-mesh “Raptor Gutter Guard” highly effective. It fits 5″ or 6″ gutters, blocks everything down to and including pine needles and averages about $3 a foot! Installation is simple and each package has everything needed for installation including stainless steel screws.
Get Bigger Gutters
If it might be time for new gutters, know that gutter installation isn’t too costly or complicated. Sometimes just proper sizing can mitigate gutter related issues. When we replaced our gutters a few years back, I replaced my standard 5” gutters with the next bigger size. My new 6” gutters have NEVER clogged since the day we added them! The reason? The downspouts (and the drain hole feeding the spout in the bottom of the gutter) are much larger and simply pass most of the leaves and other debris without clogging.
Get Bigger Spouts
If you’re not ready to replace your gutters, you can even just replace the downspout with a larger size. Typically, the drainage hole from the gutters to the spout is where gutters will clog. 5” gutters use a 2”x3” spout, where 6” gutters use a 3” x 4” spout. The larger spout can simply be used on the smaller gutters to reduce or eliminate clogging.
How to Choose a Reliable Gutter Protection Company
If you do choose to go with a professional installation, do your research to make sure you’re not getting a hard sell or a major rip-off. Any gutter salesperson who uses a hard-sell approach like the one I described above in my Leaf Filter review should be immediately eliminated from consideration.
Review sites like Thumbtack or HomeAdvisor provide reliable and honest customer reviews for tons of companies. Especially in the Covid-19 era, these reviews can help ensure any business from remodeling companies to roofers are following pandemic safety protocols.
The Better Business Bureau can also be a source for reliable reviews, and a place where you can report a company that’s trying to pull the wool over consumers’ eyes. Don’t be afraid to make some phone calls and ask friends and neighbors for reliable referrals, either.
Whichever method you choose, prevent gutter clogs will help maintain the health of your home from the shingles down to the studs.
Leaf Filter is the worst thing you can do. Typically dust, debris, pollen and fir needless clog up the screening in a hurry and render the filter useless. Then, when it rains, it flows over the filter and pours down. We spent a lot of money on Leaf Filer only to have it removed and go with what we had previously had on another home – Gutter Helmut.
Leaf filter will not clean out your gutters of filters without an additional cost. Gutter Helmet never fails to do its job and if for some reason you do get clogged gutters, they come out for free and clean them out for life!!!
We are in our 2nd year with the Leaf Filter system. Have had technicions here appox 8 times if not more for overflowing and it’s still not resolved. My husband is 74 years old and has to get up on a ladder at least twice a month,to clean them, he had to do it twice last week. I’m so over it and trying to get corporate to just honor their lifetime guarantee and come get them and refund us. Our old uncovered gutters needed cleaned a couple times a year not every month. They advertise you never have to clean your gutters again, what a joke.
I know I will be waiting a while for them to settle this but I am not giving up, they need to honor their word. I would recommend to anyone thinking about buying them to NOT do it!!!
I just received a mailer today advertising this product. I’m sure glad I checked out the reviews. I’ve seen TV commercials and wondered how the screen kept from getting clogged and water from flowing across the screen, ultimately going to the ground.
The Leaf Filter works as advertised until snow slides off the roof and takes the stainless filter material with it. No warranty for this. I will have to install snow stops to prevent this from happening again. It would of been nice if Leaf Filter warned me of this type of damage when they did the install, I could have installed the snow stops at the same time and avoided the repair cost. I will not recommend them ever again. I don’t mind paying good money for something that works, But this is unacceptable.
Leaf Filter is fine if you have no trees near you and no dust or dirt. This company is the biggest rip off if you have leaves! BUYER BEWARE AND DON’T USE!!
Exactly/ complete waste of money!! I had them installed and now spend no less time on the ladder then before having them
All the leaves and debris now build up on the screen and with rain it compacts and is worse to get off than cleaning out the gutters. Leaves initially blow over the screens like the commercial shows…if the’re dry and have lots and lots of wind in the right direction.
Should have not bought in the first place as the sales person was hard sell . His estimate included an exaggerated total linear feet. I showed him my house plans and the total footage based on them.. Believe it or he said something to the effect that you can’t believe those. Really ? When I told him I wasn’t ready to purchase and wanted to think about it. he got indignant and asked me what I thought he came to my house for? I said to “give me a quote” he left. I called the main office, explained my experience and got a quote which was much lower, based on my takeoff,
which I accepted. and in retrospect I wish I wouldn’t have.I must say in fairness
the man in the main office was very understanding
BOTTOM. LINE
If you want a recommendation for Leaf Filter don’t ask me.I’m sorry I ever called them.Nothing but aggrevation ever time I see their commercial.
Did a good of stopping the leaves going down the drain…now all leaves are piled on the roof…
I contacted Leaf Filter to give me an estimate. A high pressure sales person came out and gave me the estimate. I said it was to high. He then proceeded to go through giving me a discount. He would walk away and act like he was talking on the phone. This happened several times. Each time he would bring the price down. I finally told him I needed to think about the price. I stated again that I just wanted an estimate. I was then told that if I did not take the price, he could not offer the discount again. I did purchase the product but have done some checking and found out there other products that are better for a lower price. There are discounts in the Clipper Magazine that are available. My suggestion is do not even call Leaf Filter. No integrity.
Same here. They told me $11,009; down to $9000, then asked me how much can I afford we concluded$5000.. yesterday water got in the ceiling of my living room.. exactly where the gutter is..a guy came took his ladder, then went to his truck got a drill removed the gutter, put it back then told me since I was inside the house that what happened had nothing to do with the gutter.. please someone help because this did not happen before.. until now.
I live in NJ and purchased the leaf filter system. First winter the snow slid off the roof and took the filters
with it. Called office and was told my problem but would send estimate to replace. 3 weeks still waiting.
I guess they are only good in Florida.
I set up and appointment for Leaf Filter to come and give me an estimate before reading many sites on how they run their practice. There are too many bad instances for me to not believe everyone, so at least I’ll have a quote and can make the salesman think I’m interested. I want to see if he’ll budge on the price before I tell him I have to think about it.
I regret my purchase too. Asphalt shingles shed sand and that sits on top of the filter and then the water runs over that and over the edge of the gutter, now they are stained and look dirty. They came out and cleaned the top of the screen within a few months but now it’s over a year and they will charge me a $95.00 service fee. For what I paid for this system and then adding their service fee I could have had standard gutter cleaning twice a year for the rest of my life. So sorry I didn’t find these reviews before I purchased.
Experiencing heavy rains right now and the water just runs off for the gutter screens and floods my yard. Worst investment I’ve ever made on my home
SAME!!!
I have numerous stains on the front of my gutters where there are stains under every screw that they placed to install my gutters guards. A tech of theirs came out and agreed that their screws were causing the stains and said he’d take some photos and file a report and that someone with the company would be in contact with me. I’ve not been able to get a response from them since he came out.
Leaf Filter sales gal showed up to give me an estimate. They did ask me if my wife was going to be available. (Red Flag Warning) I usually probe people to find out who I am dealing with. She was very pleasant but had just been hired a month previous. She had a laser measuring device and asked me if I knew how to make it work. (Red Flag Warning) I did not and even if I did I was not about to do her job for her. She called the office and they talked her through it. When she was done we sat down for THE SALES PITCH. She brought out her binder to show me all of the happy people. It was basically a slide show in a binder. (Red Flag Warning) Finally my wife said lets get to it. What is this going to cost. $13,000 for 350′. Are you crazy. Many calls to the office, now $4900 with the condition that we sign now. Sounds just like a Time Share presentation. We stupidly signed the contract but have to cancel within 5 days not the usual 1 year. We came to our senses and are now going to cancel.
Wow, as a gutter company owner I have heard this this story many times. It’s disgusting! Thanks for sharing!
I never clean my gutters. I do , however, keep the drain holes leading to the downspouts (leaders) cleared of debris. I have never had a problem. What a rip off gutter cleaning is. If you leave leaves in your gutters, you never have to worry about leaves getting in your gutters.
What are you taking about Chuck?
Sales person LIED about my existing gutters causing roof damage….and that Leaf Filter installers would fix the existing roof damage. When installer came out he said there was no roof damage and even if there was, he would not be able to fix it. Then got Sales Manager Aaron on the phone where he went along with what his sales person said about me having roof damage when he has never seen my property and when I told him that his installers said I didn’t have any roof damage then Aaron backpeddled on what he had said. Then he continued to insult me on the phone with interrupting me and talking over me. Then I called Corporate to complain about all of it and got Zach, Corporate Installation Mgr of NE and he called me (2) days later to say that I would be getting a $600 credit for my troubles and now it is (20) days later and still don’t have the credit. Everyone lies and don’t do what they say they will and rip people off.
I scheduled far in advance with assurances that my deposit would be refunded if I chose to cancel. I canceled because contrary to Leo and Mike my gutters were in terrible shape and needed to be replaced. They won’t even call me back as promised or provide any answers re cancellation or refund and it’s been 3 weeks since I contacted CS, regional sales rep and local sales rep..
They’ll say your gutters are fine then blame failure on the existing system.
Question the price and get a big discount? Look out, the bait and switch is coming! If you’re not a gutter expert then please call one and NEVER give them a deposit. Forewarned is forearmed.
Leaf filter is a nightmare and we cant get anyone to call us back
I TOTALLY agree with you! I have been trying to get an appointment to have an employee come and look at the installation. 1 guy came out ( said everything was good) but I explained to him where the damage was done and he said i need to call and file a damage claim. I had an appointment, no call no show. The next day someone different called and said he’d be out that day. Once again, no call, no show!!! I am beyond PISSED!!! Im ready to get my lawyer involved.
Leaf filters is an overpriced total nightmare. Run from them
What a joke
First thing I did at my new house was rip those stupid covers off the gutters
They collect leaves and debris and the water simply runs right over the gutter
I have leaves in the gutter .. better than those screens !
I agree with everyone on this board, Leaf Filter has caused our basement to flood, we have lived here 34 years with no leaks, now this due to what they did to the gutters. When you call for service they schedule and never show, no calls, nothing. PLEASE tell everyone you know to stay away from this company. We paid them to damage our home……no guarantees as they quote. I was also appalled at their handwritten form, all a sham. I wish I had seen Dave’s entry before my husband purchased these.
Bottom line, their system does not work, they do not have customer service, nor maintenance, I’m in KY by the way.
I agree. It may work as “guaranteed” but the screen plugs up and water runs over the top. Their guarantee is that gutters will not plug. NO mention of their screen not plugging.
Lol. Thanks for this review. It was my concern, exactly.
I wish I never would have dealt with this company! Had gutters installed this spring. I had them out about a month later because the pitch was not correct. They said it was fine. Here it is winter and I have 2” of water in the gutters freezing. Called them 3 days ago & no return call. Anyone interested in a class action lawsuit?
I’m definitely interested in a class action lawsuit and I’m willing to contribute in any way I can.
Also, there’s one going on at the moment:
https://www.gs-legal.com/current-cases/leaffilter-class-action/
You do know there is one, right?
IMO, LeafFilter is a well-designed system. It does seem to be a cut above the competition. However, there are at least 2 caveats:
(1) The initial estimate may be very inflated. It’s like buying a car, Old School style (no “one price” policy). The web site does not post detailed price information; when I called, the rep would not disclose anything about the cost formula (not even a range per linear foot). The estimator started out at over $40/ft. but eventually came down to about $25/ft (which still makes it very pricey). Try to point out anything about your site that might make the job easier than others (like “no corners”). Let the estimator know you’re aware of alternatives and might be willing to do it yourself or continue to hire out annual gutter cleaning.
(2) The local installers may be the weakest link. The system is designed to be installed quickly by a small team. My team put up 151 linear feet in about 150 minutes. They left a big plug of accumulated debris at the bottom of one downspout. They left many downspout connections without fasteners. One gutter-to-downspout connection was left leaky. On the plus side, none of these were major issues. I was able to get a call-back within 3 days. They addressed these minor issues within about 30 minutes.
Despite those 2 complaints, I’m happy to have it installed. The warranty is excellent and the dealer/support network seems to cover my area well. The system is modular so the parts can be replaced easily. For instance, if a roofer or painter damages part of the mesh screen, it should be easy to replace. IMO you should consider the post-installation service quality a big factor when you compare products and prices.
I live in one of the “rich” neighborhoods, and when I call contractors, I have to call a couple of them to make sure they are not jacking up the quotes. I answered Leaf Filter ads on my FB and was surprised they want to come over that evening to give me a quote. So this sales guy came over and took the measurements and gave me a price tag of $8400 for my 2500 square feet home. I was also shocked by the exploitative language and the three-ring binder sales pitch. I didn’t expect this in America in 2021. I called the other contractor, and he quoted $350 for labor and material cost of gutters with mesh which was less than $1000.
I got an estimate for my home in NC of $15,000 plus for Leaf Filter. This was for 250 feet of gutters, then with their hard sell tactic it dropped that to 7,500! I could replace my gutters for that price. When I told them I don’t make spot decisions, it began to get ugly. I expect their best price first! They only came down to 7,500 because I said 5,000 might be what I expect to pay. All in all, I think they would sell more of their product if they dropped the sales presentation and just quoted a fair price. I don’t like contractors who jack up the price based on the neighborhood!
The word “accountability” does not exist in LeafFilter’s business practice.
After 3 months of technician tried to fix leaks from downspouts(which LeafFilter installed) and rainwater overflowing issues for 5 times, plus numerous communications to customer support and installation managers, we came to a conclusion that wrong product was installed on our home(they still cannot fix issues. There are still leaks and overflows). Finally, they sent a copy of Release and Termination Agreement to us; however, we were shocked by the exploitative language they proposed. I’ve never encountered “American owned manufacturing/business” that is so deceitful. They act like they have a license to rip-off consumers. Please do not believe what they say on ads on tv or newspapers.
LeafFilter insists that their warranty only covers “not clogging the inside of gutter,” and nothing else.
In order to remove and refund of their product, you have to waive your rights, even the installation of their product resulted in damages of gutters, roofs, foundations, and body injuries from dripping from overflowing, they will not be responsible.
We asked them to insert the payment terms on refunds(no terms whatsoever, like they never going to process), and language not to damage our property further during removal process and clean up afterwards(each time technician came to our property, they left trash and sharp screws everywhere including driveway and sidewalks), they cannot agree on such terms.
We really wanted to support “Made in America” business but we only have regrets from purchasing LeafFilter.
Leaffilter was the worst investment we have made. We live in the woods in an area that receives a lot of rain and even a small amount of debris causes clogs resulting in significant water overflow over the gutters and now between my gutter and siding. It has cause leaks and pooling around the base of my home along with leaks on our decks. We have had 4 different installers to try and address the problem, but the problem is with the product – it is not designed for these conditions. It has caused nothing but frustration. We were fooled by an excellent salesman and good marketing.
I also have leaf filter system and I agree it was my worst investment ever they keep the leaves out of the gutters but the leaves and dirt and pine needles stay on top of the covering not allowing the water into the gutters and overflows them. I called and complained and of course no response.
Leaf filter is a nightmare we cant get anyone to call us back
I have the same problem. I’m on my ladder more now than I was before I had them installed. Also they caused one of my roof area to leak. I called and told them the problem, they said they would send someone out to inspect the problem. The day they were to come out I had an a meeting out of town. Told them after 2pm would be good. I was just about to leave when the rep showed up early around 9am. I meet him outside , he acted like I caught him doing something. He inspected the roof and said the gutter was not the problem. The roof had bad seams. I had the roofer who put on the roof come out and check. He told me there is no way the water will filter through the screens at the angle they put it fast enough to keep water from backing up on the roof. He said water will fine away to get in when it backs up no mater what. I called them back and told them the results. They really could care less. Nothing ever got done. I pulled that section off and had no more problem with leaks. This company is a real rip off .
Hi Tom-
My condo is in Wichita, KS, and I have 5 tress that drop leaves into the gutters. Clogging is a problem, and the HOA has suggested cutting down the trees to prevent damage to the homes.
Not. An. Option.
I did my research, and found Sheerflow Gutter Filter at a local home improvement store. A box cost $95 and provided enough material to cover the gutters on the duplex for my house and the attached unit (which is owned by a 90+ year old couple who can’t climb a ladder, so I did the gutters over their house for various reasons).
I also laid pavers in the back yard under the gutter to stop the overflow drips from forming a rut in the ground.
I picked the brown colored filter on the theory the darker color will help melt the ice and snow in the winter.
The DIY price is far less than having someone do it for me, and my wife and I had some quality time together – she is a big help!
So far, all is well with the gutters, and the chain saws have no reason to be near my trees.
Dave Geist
PS – The website is https://gutterfilter.com/. If you have any questions for me, I be reached at 405-885-3039, and I would be happy to discuss my experience with you on the air.