How To Prevent and Get Rid Of Ice Dams

If you have ever owned a home in Northeast, there’s a very good chance that at point or another, your home has had an ice dam.  Ice dams form when the heat from your home escapes through your roof and melts the snow resting on it.  The melting snow rolls down your roof, and once it reaches the eaves, it re-freezes.  As this cycle continues all winter, large chunks of ice build up along the edge of your roof and gutters.  This causes water to pool up behind them, and since the heat from your roof is still warming it as it backs-up, it sits on your roof in liquid form, which can cause water damage to your roof.  Therefore, it is important to address those ice dams before your roof starts leaking.  Take a look at our guide for some of the easiest ways:

Rake the Snow

One of the easiest steps you can take to prevent ice dams, or at least stop them from getting worse, is to rake away the snow.  Unless you have a 3 story house, a roof rake should be able to reach almost all the way to the top of your roof.  If you pull the snow off of your roof as it falls, it won’t be able to melt down and refreeze along the edges. Rather than having to chip off ice from your gutters and eaves, you’ll only have to pull light, fluffy snow off of your roof.

Salt, Salt, Salt

If the ice dam has already formed and needs to be addressed as soon as possible, a popular DIY solution involves taking an old pair of pantyhose, and filling them with calcium chloride.  If you lay this down over an ice dam, using your roof rake to set it in place, the salt will melt a path right through the ice for the water to drain through.  While this won’t get rid of the entire ice dam, it will create a path for the liquid to drain through and get it off of your roof.

Hire a Professional

If your ice dams are particularly bad, and salting your roof doesn’t seem to be making a difference, the best thing you can do for your roof is to hire a professional to come steam your ice dams away.  While you may not want to spend the money on a professional, letting your ice dams sit on your roof all winter could be far most costly if your roof fails and water begins leaking into your home.  While some roofs may not fail and leak, it is better to be safe than sorry!

If you’re going to be replacing your roof soon and your home often has issues with ice dams, give the team at MHX Designs a call at (888) 944-6493 or fill out our online contact form today.  We will assist you in replacing your roof, and helping design one that is less susceptible to ice dams!