How Do I Melt An Ice Dam On My Roof

Stop ice dams with a cold roof.

How do i melt an ice dam on my roof.

The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof. If snow and ice accumulate on your roof heating cables are an easy and effective to solution to eliminate melt the ice dams before they cause major damage. Have a professional steam your ice dams away. If necessary use a long handled rake or other tool to help get it in position.

An ice dam forms when the roof over the attic gets warm enough to melt the underside of the layer of snow on the roof. Never use rock salt for this as it will do more damage to your roof than it will to the ice. The snow melts into water and t. The water trickles down between the layer of snow and the shingles until it reaches the eave of the roof which stays cold because it extends beyond the side of the house.

Ice dams can be frustrating. Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter. The person breaking the ice dam should do so from the vantage point of being on the roof not from the ground where the heavy sheets of ice will fall. Use this calculator to estimate the cost and length of heat cables for your home based on your roof length and overhang width.

If necessary use a long handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position. When your roof heats up and melts the bottom layer of snow or ice the water leaks down to the edge of your roof and freezes again creating an ice dam. An ice dam forms when the roof over the attic gets warm enough to melt the bottom layer of snow. Ice dams and icicles form when the snow melts runs down your roof and refreezes near the edge.

Eliminate its fuel source if left alone the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof. An ice dam can form when certain parts of the roof get warm enough to melt the snow on the roof while the roof edges remain much colder and as a result prevent the melted snow from flowing down the roof. To help prevent this fill up a pair of pantyhose with the salt you d use to get rid of ice on your sidewalk and tie off the ends. Here are five ways to remove an ice dam from your roof.

Over time the calcium chloride will clear a channel in the ice dam allowing the water on your roof to escape. So the first step is to remove this ice and snow using a snow rake which is a retractable rake that can extend up to about 17 feet or so in length.