Ice Dams

I’m sure you’ve noticed the huge icicles hanging off nearly every home. While they may look pretty and add a delightful snow-globe-like appearance to our winter wonderland,  you need to know the dangers they pose. Icicles can lead to ice dams. When the weather starts to warm, the snow on your roof will melt. Water will run down the roof and be trapped by the “dam” that the icicles have created at the edge of the roofline. This trapped water will refreeze and seep beneath the shingles. The continued thaw and freeze cycle will wreak havoc on the surface of your roof, but even worse, when the ice melts again the water can drip into your attic and begin running down the walls, too. Yikes! Make sure you are on the lookout for ice dams. Breaking the icicles off before ice dams form or getting a professional to steam ice dams off are common removal methods. Be careful, knocking down icicles can be dangerous and cause injury.

So, what is there to be done?

Many think a bit of salt will do the trick. But we recommend you Do NOT use rock salt (meant for sidewalks), table salt, or any type of salt (Sodium Chloride – NaCl)! Salt corrodes metal including your gutters and the nails holding your shingles in place. There are some variants, such as Magnesium-Chloride and Calcium-Chloride, that can be used in place of Salt. It should be noted that these chemicals still have corrosive properties and can damage the roof materials. Hiring a professional to steam off ice dams is recommended as a safe way to remove them while preventing further damage to the roof.