Avoid Gutters Blocked by Ice Dams

How to protect your home this winter

Icicles can be beautiful, but did you know they’re actually a sign of a problem in your home, like ice dams? If you see thick & long icicles dripping from your gutters, don’t remove them yourself. You could up getting hurt and damaging your home.

United Window Cleaning takes you through a crash course on how to avoid ice build-up in the first place & dealing with winter water damage!

Avoid Ice Build-Up

Icicles can be dangerous when water building up behind the icicles gets inside your house, says Energy Smart Ohio. This can rot the wood in your roof and attic, possibly without your knowledge and it also can seep through and ruin ceilings, walls, and windows.

The cause of ice damming is simple: too much heat in the attic. If the temperature in the attic is above freezing and there is snow on the roof, the snow melts. When the snow melts, the water runs into the gutter. Since the gutter is not above the house where it can be heated, the water refreezes into ice, causing ice dams in the gutter and icicles hanging down.

As the ice in the gutter gets thicker, it stops the water as it comes down the roof, making an ice dam. The water coming down the roof eventually builds up and does not refreeze because it is warmed by the house and its attic. The water is pushed up under the shingles and into the house.

An effective way to eliminate ice dams is to stop snowmelt by making the roof colder. This can be achieved by insulating the floor of the attic and under the roof, and by blocking all crevices where warm air from the interior can rise into the attic.

If possible, keep snow off the roof with a snow rake. Use a roof rake or push broom to reduce the amount of snow that could melt. Do not climb on the roof to clear the snow as serious injury may result.

Or for the easiest solution, just give us a call!

Let United Window Cleaning deal with the ice dam issues in your home! Schedule an appointment before it’s too late!