How To Clear Ice Dams On Roof

See below for a shopp.

How to clear ice dams on roof.

Breaking an ice dam is usually done in conjunction with melting the ice in some fashion such as with the use of calcium chloride socks as described above or with roof steaming below. If necessary use a long handled rake or other tool to help get it in position. Some people claim that putting calcium chloride ice melt the same material used on sidewalks and driveways in a pair of panythose and laying it across the eaves will prevent ice dams. One popular method is to use an electrical cabling system that boosts the temperature of the eaves just enough to prevent ice dams from forming.

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. Just keep the entire roof the same temperature as the eaves. Stand on the ground not on the roof or ladder and use this rake to scrape the existing snowpack down off your roof. Never use rock salt for this as it will do more damage to your roof than it will to the ice.

You do that by increasing ventilation adding insulation and sealing off every possible air leak that might warm the underside of the roof. If left alone the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof. The more snow you can clear from your roof the less your chances of dealing with a cave in or ice dams will be. Over time the calcium chloride will clear a channel in the ice dam allowing the water on your roof to escape.

A steamer is like a pressure washer except that the water is hot. If you have leakage from an ice dam and can t rake the snow off the roof the best way to get rid of the ice dam is to hire a roofing company to steam it off.