The oldest design of gutter covers is that of a screen device. They've been around since the early 1900's. The less sophisticated earlier designs have larger openings which allow debris into the gutter of sufficient quantity to clog the gutters. They must be routinely accessed to be cleaned and often times require more labor to clean and reinstall than it is to simply clean gutters. Of late they've gotten more sophisticated in terms of using foam inserts, or surgical steel fine mesh. All of these gutter covers collect debris on top of them which means that eventually rain water can not get into the gutter.
More sophisticated designs were invented later on. If you Google "Niagara gutter guard" you'll find an …show more content…
If you Google "care-free solid top gutter guards" you'll find the next improvement. The next generation either has one row of openings (with louvers in each opening guiding water into the gutter) like shown on the care-free gutter or it has a trough with sieve openings to limit the size of the debris. While this type of gutter guard is an improvement, it will not successfully keep out debris under heavy debris conditions. Debris that comes down the face of the gutter can still wash into the gutter from the gutter lip. While it's less debris and smaller than in the previous design, in heavy debris conditions, someone has to go up a ladder to remove the gutter covers and clean the gutter. The gutter cover with a trough is nailed into the roofing which adds a complication to