March Rains are Here: why Gutter Guards probably aren't the answer you think they are.

It's raining again in Windsor-Essex. And if your eavestroughs are full of last autumn's leaves and this winter's debris — which most of them are — that water isn't going where it's supposed to go.

It's going over the edge, the front or even worse - the back side. Down the fascia. Into the soffit. Along the foundation. Quietly, steadily, every time it rains.

This time of year I get called in to clean eavestroughs and I see the same thing over and over: homeowners who had no idea there was a problem until the damage had already started, or they knew it was a problem (trees growing in gutters) but didn't know what to do or who to call. By then, the conversation has shifted from a routine clean to something much more expensive.

What actually happens when eavestroughs are blocked

Eavestroughs exist for one reason: to catch water from the roof and work help move water away from your home. When they're clogged, that system fails, and the water has to go somewhere.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Fascia rot. Your fascia board sits directly behind the eavestrough. When water overflows and backs up against it — especially during sustained spring rain — it saturates the wood. Over time, it rots. Fascia replacement runs anywhere from $900 to over $6,000 depending on how far the damage has spread, and it almost always means your gutters have to come down and go back up at the same time.

Soffit damage. The soffit — the underside of your roof's overhang — relies on proper eavestrough drainage to stay dry. When that drainage fails, moisture gets in, ventilation suffers, and mould follows. Once mould is in your soffit, you're no longer dealing with a cleaning job.

Foundation problems. Overflowing eavestroughs dump water directly at the base of your home. In Windsor-Essex, where the freeze-thaw cycle is relentless from November through March, that water works into the soil, expands, contracts, and gradually compromises your foundation. Basement waterproofing systems start around $3,000. Foundation piering — the serious end of that failure — can run $7,500 to $30,000.

Insurance won't always cover it. Most home insurance policies treat eavestrough neglect as a maintenance failure, not an insurable event. The repair comes out of your pocket.

A professional eavestrough clean runs a fraction of any of those numbers. The math isn't complicated.

On gutter guards — an honest take

I get asked about gutter guards regularly. Clients see the sales pitches, the promises of never cleaning again, the $3,000 to $5,000 installation quotes — and they want to know if it's worth it.

My honest answer: "usually not"

What Gutter Guards are good at: In my opinion, gutter guards are very good at keeping your downspouts clear. They excell at this because debris doesn't get down into the gutter and get trapped in the downspouts. When you get an installation done, the company will re-slope your eaves troughs so water flows properly (down) and make sure your downspouts are clear. This is good, but is that worth North of $5k?

Here's what the gutter guard industry doesn't lead with. Seeds, pine needles, fine organic matter, and roof grit don't care about your mesh screen. They still find their way through or typically settle on top, decomposing into a layer of debris that clogs the system just as effectively as an open eavestrough would. And the debris that piles up on top of the guard creates its own problem — it holds moisture against the fascia, which is exactly what you were trying to prevent.

Here's what I've noticed doing this work in Windsor-Essex: an open eavestrough can actually hold a significant volume of debris before it starts to overflow. A guard-covered one, by contrast, lets water overshoot the edge as soon as that top layer builds up — which means the fascia gets wet sooner, not later.

Debris can build up on top of the guard, and when that happens, your home can take on a worn-down appearance — and water behaviour doesn't improve. The part that really gets me: gutter guards are not a set-and-forget solution. They require ongoing maintenance to function properly.

So after spending thousands on installation, you're still booking a cleaning twice a year — you're just paying more for the privilege.

There are situations where guards make sense. If you have severe leaf volume from large overhanging trees and genuinely cannot keep up with cleaning frequency, a quality micro-mesh guard can reduce how much gets in. But it won't eliminate the need for maintenance, and it won't protect your fascia if the top surface of the guard is holding wet debris through a rainy March.

Save the $5,000. Spend it on something that actually improves your home. Book a spring and fall clean, every year, without fail.

What a professional eavestrough clean actually includes

When Richardson Clean cleans your eavestroughs, I use a SkyVac 85 Elite vacuum system — no ladders on your roof, no debris scattered across your property. Everything

is vacuumed out completely. Every job ends with a downspout flush and a flow check to confirm water is draining freely.

You'll know it's been done properly because you'll see the results — and because the next heavy rain won't end up running down your fascia.

If you're looking out the window at the rain today and you genuinely can't remember the last time your eavestroughs were cleaned, that's your answer.

We clean eavestroughs across Essex County — including LaSalle, Tecumseh, Amherstburg, and Windsor.

Give me a call or send a message. I'll get you a quote, no pressure.