A lady called me up and said she was buying a welcome gift for her son who had recently purchased a home. She went on to explain that the home was an old fixer upper and that the home had “ Drain Tile ”. She explained that she wanted to help him out and she didn't have a lot to spend but she really wanted to help him avoid a large expense in the future by stopping debris from flowing down the gutter, into the downspouts and into the drain tile. She said she wants him to avoid clogged drain tile happening from gutter debris. She purchased 8 pieces of GutterBrush 18” downspout guards to keep his gutter leaves and debris from going down his downspouts and clogging his drain tile. She explained that she didn't have the extra money needed to fill his entire gutter to solve clogging and decrease maintenance, but that the purchase of these 8 downspout guards should save him a lot of money from having to excavate or dig up the drain tile in the future. She knew instinctively that she wanted to spend a little money to keep her son from experiencing a large expense. I thanked her for her order for downspout guards, but right when we got off the phone I had to research the phrase “drain tile”.
What Is Drain Tile
When I got off the phone with this wonderful Gutterbrush customer, I researched “What is Drain Tile” and I learned it is similar to an underground drainage pit. In our customer’s case, her son’s downspouts enter the ground and deliver the rain water into the drain tile. The drain tile is a system of perforated pipes that carries the water away. Obviously we would not want the gutters to deliver lots of leaves and gutter debris into the drain tile. Drain tile is another word for “french drain”; also known as ‘ Weeping Tile”. They are underground gutter drains. Here's an article about French Drains. Other phrases used to describe such underground drainage systems are dry well, trench drain - filled with stone or gravel, rock drains, perimeter drain, land drain, rubble drain and tile gravel pit. In each case it is desirable to keep debris out in order to keep the system flowing properly. Water will flow through pipes or even through dug out trenches that are filled with gravel, so it is a good idea to keep all of those gutter leaves out. Our customer had a great idea when she purchased just enough Gutterbrush to cover the downspouts and stop gutter leaves from entering the leader pipes and clogging the drain tile. Drain Tile, French Drains and the like, provide a path of least resistance for water to flow underground and away from the house. Without active drainage features like drain tile of french drains, the water table surrounding the home or building can continue to rise causing water problems such was water in the basement.
Stop Debris and Leaves from Entering the Underground Gutter Drain
Our customer will be very effective at stopping leaves and debris from entering the downspouts and the underground Gutter Drain, by purchasing 18” lengths of GutterBrush Drain Guards and simply setting them over the downspouts to filter the debris out while allowing the rain water to flow out. The 18” length downspout guards will keep the downspouts clear. If a $ 25.00 purchase of 4 downspout guards were to keep his drain tile from clogging and having to be replaced at a typical cost of $ 3,000 to excavate the drainage and replace it, then the return on investment or ROI is the savings of a $ 3,000 repair for the cost of $ 25.00 so the ROI is $ 3000/$25 or 120 ROI. These small sections of Gutterbrush will keep the downspouts and drain tile from clogging, however if there are alot of trees near the house, installing downspout guards can often be trading one issue for another. While the downspout guards will keep the gutter leaves from flowing down the downspouts, obviously leaves and debris will continue to drop into the gutter. Often, the rain water will enter the unprotected gutter and flow towards the downspouts with leaves and debris also flowing towards the downspouts. The Gutterbrush 18” downspout protector is one of the largest downspout protectors on the market with more surface area than any other downspout guard, therefore it will allow the water to flow through longer than any other downspout guard, but if the remaining gutter is unprotected, the gutter debris may pile up at the edge of the Gutterbrush downspout guard. Such a condition may cause the owner to simply have to put up a ladder and scoop out the debris that piles up at the unprotected edge, or read-on to learn how to further decrease maintenance to a minimum.
Drain Tile Maintenance to Avoid Clogged Drain Tile
By keeping those downspouts protected and by keeping debris from flowing down the downspouts, you will eliminate having to perform maintenance on your drain tile. If you keep all of the debris out, your drain tile should be virtually maintenance free and you will have avoided causing clogged drain tile. Obviously nobody wants to trade one maintenance item for another, so continue to read further to learn how to keep both your drain tile and your gutter virtually maintenance free.
No Such Thing as a Maintenance Free Gutter in the Debris Field
I spent 25 years working on roofs and gutters, summer and winter. Anyone who works outside realizes that out in the debris field, there is no such thing as a maintenance free gutter and there is no such thing as a maintenance free gutter guard. If there are no trees in the area, the gutter can operate on a maintenance free basis but if there are lots of trees near the building, then the gutter and any gutter guard will require maintenance. It is just a fact of life that all gutter guards in the debris field will need maintenance in order to keep flowing. Additionally, when we try to keep every little spec of debris from entering the downspout, such a scenario will also require maintenance because the debris begins to pile up surrounding the downspout guard. The more the volume or the size of the downspout guard, or the larger the downspout guard, the longer it will be able to function and flow before needing maintenance; which is why a larger gutter strainer with more surface area is better than a smaller gutter strainer. The larger gutter strainer with more surface area can filter more debris without clogging; therefore if you were to fill the entire gutter with a gutter strainer, the full length gutter strainer would provide the maximum protection from clogging without overflowing.
The Gutter Strainer Clog Journey Is a Common One
I call it a journey because there are quite a few steps that occur between the time someone realizes they must keep leaves out of their downspouts in order to avoid clogging the drain tile, and the time they realize they must have a full length gutter strainer or gutter filter. This process is the same for so many out there who realize they must keep gutter debris out of the downspouts and also for those who realize that clogged downspouts is one of the main ways gutters clog. Many people come to this realization and then purchase a downspout strainer or downspout guard and realize almost immediately that the downspout strainer requires maintenance because it is simply not large enough. They may install a small gutter strainer which will work well for a while, but as soon as the spring droppings occur or fall droppings occur, they realize they need a much more extensive gutter solution in order to avoid clogging and also keep maintenance to a minimum. So many homeowners take this same journey learning about how gutters clog, and after multiple gutter overflow occurrences, they come to the realization that they need a gutter strainer but they need the gutter strainer to be full length filling the entire gutter; and that is exactly what Gutterbrush is.
Stop Leaves from Going Down the Downspout
It stands to reason that if you stop all of the gutter leaves and debris from going down the downspout to avoid a clogged drain tile, the debris is going to pile up at the strainer due to the fact that most of the gutter is unprotected, open and receiving debris. Therefore, for the most maintenance free solution, simply fill the entire gutter with 3 foot lengths of Gutterbrush. Gutterbrush is a full length gutter strainer. If you fill the entire gutter and you leave it in place, debris can no longer flow with the rain water to cause a clog so the gutter will flow freely for the longest possible amount of time. As mentioned earlier, there is no such thing as a maintenance free gutter guard. Filling the entire gutter with the full length gutter strainer is simply the best you can do at decreasing maintenance. Gutterbrush is known to keep gutters from clogging and also known to keep drain tile and french drains from clogging for many many years; and it lasts for many years also. One of the greatest things about GutterBrush is that it is easy to install, but the 2nd best thing about Gutterbrush is the fact that it is very easy to maintain. Eventually, if the GutterBrush requires maintenance, simply remove the Gutterbrushes by pulling them out of the gutter. If it is a wet day, when you pull them out of the gutter they may spatter, so simply cover the Gutterbrush with a towel or a rag before you pull it, to avoid spatter. Once removed, simply bang the Gutterbrush on a hard surface to cause the debris to drop out. Clean the gutter and reinstall Gutterbrush completely renewed to start over again