GutterStuff Gutter Foam Filter
GutterStuff is an easy to install solution for keeping gutters free flowing and clear of leaves and other debris so you can stay safely on the ground during rains and storms.
See my update to this here.
Ease of Use/Performance: 25/25
Convenience/Storage 23/25
Appearance/Design 25/25
How much I enjoy 23/25
Total: 96/100
GutterStuff is a foam filter solution that you install in your gutters to keep debris like leaves, branches, seeds and roofing material out of your gutter. The foam filter allows water to easily pour through in even the most torrential downpour but keeps itself intact from ultraviolet light and is flame retardant.
The foam filter business is a relatively new and one I have been highly interested in since purchasing my new home and even before then. I was interested in installing these on my previous rental home but just could not afford it and vowed to try it out when I did get a home of my own.
Now I have the chance to try out not only GutterStuff but a competing companies product and test them against the weather and my homes nearby foliage. Gutter foam inserts are a simple and easy to install solution to keep gutters flowing freely with your rain water.
The foam filters install simply by pushing them into the gutter and most of the foam inserts are a wedge shape so that the foam installs with a clear area at the bottom toward the front. The foam pushes into the gutter with the tall flat piece against the back of the gutter that is flush with the homes fascia.
The flat top of the GutterStuff will be flat across the top of the gutter and will keep leaves, branches and other debris out of the gutter while the open triangle shape in the front bottom of the gutter allows water to flow freely. The GutterStuff Pro foam filters come in four foot sections and are made of polyether foam that are treated with a fire retardant and ultraviolet protection as well as a germicide.
GutterStuff is warranted for 3 years and is partially coated with the flame retardant, UV protection and germicide to protect the foam. The foam is a dark black and is easy to install given the four foot sections that equal about the spacing of your reach on a ladder.
I found the four foot sections easy to install on my gutters with the cross piece but did start out installing them one way and switched. I was cutting the foam on the top and trying to slide them under the gutters cross pieces or hangers that hold the gutter on the fascia.
I found it easier to cut the bottom of the foam up toward the top and leave about an inch thick on top to be placed over the cross pieces that are about an inch down inside the gutters on my home. I continued installing the foam GutterStuff on top of the cross pieces for the half of my porch where I installed all the sections I received for reviewing.
Once I figured out the best way to install the gutter foam it went a little quicker without having to slide each piece under the cross bars. The installation instructions say you should install the foam under each hanger or cross piece but I found it actually easier to place them on top.
Using a simple razor knife I cut a notch out of the foam from the bottom to within an inch of the top and placed the foam into the gutter. I used the installation instructions for the most part and pushed the foam in from the edge that goes against the groove of the gutter and then pushed the back down.
The GutterStuff foam installs easily once you get the hang of what you're doing but be careful when working on a ladder. I installed the entire porch of my home in under an hour and the foam went in easily for the four and a half sections I installed for half the porch from GutterStuff.
The hangers or cross pieces are easily dealt with either going under if you want or like I did by cutting the foam and going over them. The GutterStuff pieces hold into the gutter using the wedge shape and the pointed end fitting into the gutters front dent that runs the length of gutters.
The gutter foam cuts easily and corners are a simple matter of measuring to get the corner in the right spot by cutting a forty five degree angle in the piece. Once you have the foam installed in one corner piece you may have to cut a wedge out of the piece to get the other side of the corner to finish of the angle you need.
Installation for corners and ends are easy and cutting the foam is simple with a razor knife or box cutter and installation needs no tools other than a knife and ladder. You should follow ladder safety practices like tying a taller ladder off at the top when using them for two story buildings and even anchoring the base of the ladder.
GutterStuff on my porch worked well and over the last two months has stood up to several storms and fifty mile an hour winds easily. Over the past two months I have watched as leaves, seeds, branches and twigs as well as other debris like roof shingle bits fell and swept off the foam.
The foam does an excellent job of keeping stuff out of your gutter to allow water to easily run down the gutter and downspouts. The GutterStuff keeps a small wedge of space open all along your gutter to keep water flowing and even the small debris from roofing shingles that does get into the gutter through the foam is easily swept down.
When installing the GutterStuff you should hose out the gutters but afterwards you should have no problems with gutters clogging. I highly recommend using GutterStuff for a low cost but easy to install solution to keep your gutters clear of leaves and debris.
GutterStuff foam filters are a simple to install solution, much easier than rolls of screening or other screw in place solutions available at home improvement stores. I have installed those rolled screen solutions on my mother in laws home and was not impressed with them at all but the foam filters really are quick and easy to install.
GutterStuff is available for about $2.81 per foot which amounts to about $16 per four foot piece and is available at Ace and True Value hardware stores and online at the GutterStuff website. I will continue to monitor the GutterStuff foam sitting in my gutters and will update this review on my website Jeffs Reviews in the future.