Clearing Gutter Ice Dams

This equates to a larger thicker ice dam than you would have had without gutters.

Clearing gutter ice dams.

It will slowly melt the ice and the substances will drain out of your gutters with the water. Here are the 5 ways to get rid of ice dams from gutters. If you start from the bottom you may release the ice dam and cause it to slide down potentially hurting someone. With that in mind here is how to get rid of ice dams in gutters.

But regardless you would have had ice dams anyway so don t go tearing the gutters off your house in an effort to prevent ice dams this winter. To the uninitiated ice dams can be somewhat mysterious as one house may be burdened with huge blocks of ice thickly covering the roof eaves while adjacent homes have only a bright cap of snow over the shingles with no signs of ice at all. Therefore you should take steps to prevent ice dams from building on your gutters. This in turn causes the water to sit in the gutters and with the onset of colder temperatures the water will then turn into ice and at that point you are in a world of hurt.

Fill it with calcium chloride tie off the top and lay it vertically across the ice dam. Ice dams can form in your gutters when water is unable to leave the system due to blockages and other debris. Ask this old house general contractor tom silva explains the best ways to keep your roof and gutters free from those dreaded ice dams. A good trough maker is a tube of cloth a leg from an old pair of panty hose works well.

It will slowly melt its way down through the dam clearing a path for the underlying water to flow free. Gutters do not cause ice dams. If people try to tell you otherwise either politely correct them or slam the door in their face and let them use the money they make from their revolutionary no ice dam gutter system to have a surgeon un flatten their nose. If ignored ice dams can cause serious damage to your roof gutters paint insulation and interior drywall and other surfaces.

It s actually a bad idea to try this removal practice as its hard on the roof might cause more damage and also poses a safety hazard for you. Gutter cleaning is important to help prevent ice dams. This method uses a lot of water but does work without harming your roof. Instead fill long socks.

Melt the ice dam with calcium chloride socks. Calcium chloride is the same stuff used for melting ice on driveways and sidewalks but don t just sprinkle it on the ice dam. Use your garden hose to deliver hot water to the ice dam starting at the top and working your way down. Following the label instructions sprinkle or distribute the substance along the top of the ice in your gutter.

Unfortunately the first method that homeowners tend to rely on when it comes to removing ice dams from the gutters is by picking at the ice with a chisel or hammer.