No clue, but when I've posed home improvement questions here in the past, I've been (very helpfully) referred to diy home improvement forums out there on the interwebz. I seem to recall that http://www.diychatroom.com/ was particularly useful.

Edit: Here's the link to the result when I searched "downspout filter"

http://www.diychatroom.com/search.php?searchid=23823250

---

War is god

I like the cheaper one. Self cleaning. Ive cut my hand pretty good carelessly pulling out the strainer on the pricier one.

I don't understand your statement about not being able to put leaf guards on the gutters. Google "leaf guard sponge" doesn't get any simpler than that.

---

I miss YaHey

Thats pretty cool. Ive never seen that down in the south were a I live. The few people that use guards use the screen type which doesnt do shit for pine needles. Actually it makes it worse.
I need to look into this. I wonder how long it takes for mold to clog that foam up.

We recently had some french drains installed around our house and I asked about the very same concern. I was thinking there needed to be something to catch debris as it comes out of the downspout and into the french drains. Instead, I was told there would be no need to place a device like a screen or catch on the downspouts, that the rushing water would keep the downspouts and french drains clean all the way to "daylighting" the drains into the backyard.

Now, the drains were dug so that they continue downhill until they daylight. So far, they were right. I only need to clear out the ends of the french drains.

Gutter guards or screens are another story. I can't decide if I want those vs. paying someone clean-out the gutters twice a year.

Stay away from gutter screens. Idk how but leaves will still make it into the gutters and the screens make it damn near impossible to clean em out. And if you live around pine trees its worse. Much easier to just hit em with the leaf blower quarterly before the leaves breakdown and turn into a solid layer of gunk .I clean tile roofs for a living and Im constantly asked to flush out gutters wile Im up there.

I have a slate roof with a steep pitch and gables. The main gutter on front and back get a lot of water that flows fast. When I had some work done I asked the roofer about putting some form of leaf guard up. He said with the amount of water plus how quickly it flows it's pointless. Half the water will go over the gutter.

I did see the sponge thing this weekend and wondered if it would work.

---

"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

Thanks I'll check that out.

---

"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

I was set to get the cheap one but the reviews are not too good. Most say half the water comes out. Did the expensive one work well?

---

"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

I'll more than likely follow your advice re: gutter screens.

I had gutter "guard" style cap on my old house for about 10 years. The only issue I had was birds getting in and making nest since the ends were open. Maybe had to clean them once a year and we had a lot of leaves fall there.

The pine needles is another issue where I live now. Two pine trees next to the house and a row by the property line. They have the gutters all gunked up.

Gutter Guard the company (super expensive)promotes that, the water rushing will flush the system. The only reason I don't think that would work for me is all the downspouts were diverted from the underground pipes. I've checked the one I would like to hook back up and water makes it to the street. My guess is they closed them off because they were clogging which would be problematic enough. But I'm most concerned with the one I would like to hook up clogging or back flowing into basement stair well and then water getting into the basement.

---

"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

+2 on staying away from gutter screens/guards. And this is coming from someone who worked for a gutter company in college hanging/cleaning gutters most weekends and summers. Screens are useless just as Dirt Fighter describes. At most I might use a strainer at the top of the downspout(i currently do, but I live in a ranch with easy access to gutter downspouts and a walkable sloped roofline). And I am consistent in clearing it in the fall.

It does the job but has to be emptied out often. The strainer fills up fast and can get backed up making it hard to open .