3 Helpful Tips To Prevent & Remove Ice Dams From Your Home This Winter
If you have lived in the area for any length of time, you are probably quite familiar with ice dams and the kind of damage the can inflict to your home. If you are new to the area, first of all, Welcome! Secondly, working to prevent ice dams from forming, or having them removed if they do is an incredibly important part of protection your home all throughout the winter season. Just because spring is getting closer, and you can see the light at the end of the tunnel doesn't mean now is the time to let your guard down. Ice dams can still be a serious problem even into the later parts of winter, or even longer if we are having a particularly cold year. In an effort to help you keep your roof well protected until the winter months are safely behind us, our team of professionals at Absolute Quality Roofing LLC. have taken the time to put together this short list. This list contains several helpful tips of preventing ice dams from forming, and safely removing them in case they have to help ensure your home makes it through without sustaining any damage.
Use An Ice Rake
One of the best ways to prevent ice dams from forming is to simply make sure that you are removing the snow from your roof before it has a chance to melt and freeze again, and a roof rake can be an invaluable tool to help you do so. A roof rake is essentially a long rake with a flat shovel-like end that will allow you to safely pull snow off of your roof while standing safely on the ground. While a roof rake isn't going to be the most effective tool to remove ice once it has formed, it is one of the most effective options for removing fresh snow, and every bit of fresh snow that you remove from your roof is less potential water that could either continue to freeze and form an ice dam or leak down into your home once a dam has formed.
Install Heat Cables
Another method of helping to prevent ice dams from forming or helping to break up their formation once they do. Electric heat cables are generally something that a professional can help you install along the edge of your roof that can help to melt any snow that lingers along the edge of your roof before it is able to freeze and form an ice dam. While there are DIY kits and options for electric heat cables out there, it is generally a much more effective and safer option to call in a professional and have them take care of the installation for you as icy roofs can be quite treacherous.
Call In A Professional
If you already have ice dams forming along the edge of your roof, or you notice that you have water leaking into your attic, the time for preventative measures are likely over, and it's time to call in the roofing service professionals. A professional roofer can help you break up and remove any ice dams that might have formed and help you install preventative measures that can help to prevent them from forming again. A roofing professional will also be able to assess the measure of damage to your roof or your attic if you already have water that has leaked in and help you keep any damages to the absolute minimum.
