Causes & Solutions For Ice Dams
The winter season tends to cause a lot of problems for homeowners! Without the proper preventative measures, you could end up paying a lot more than you anticipated for repairs from water damage and ice. One of the biggest pain points for homeowners during the winter is ice dams. If these end up forming, they can be expensive to remove and cause serious damage if allowed to grow. The best way to stop ice dams is to prevent them from happening altogether, which means understanding the causes of their forming and the solutions for when they do. We’ll explain both of these important items below!
What Causes Ice Dams To Form?
Preventing ice dams from appearing on your home’s exterior means having a complete understanding of what causes them to show up. It also requires knowing how to insulate your home properly! The main cause of ice dams forming on a roof is inconsistent temperatures. After a big snowstorm, you’ll likely have a good amount of snow on your roof. This can melt during the day due to either improper home insulation or the heat of the sun, refreezing the cold edge of the roofline to cause an ice dam to form. This cycle repeats itself daily until the water has no place to go, eventually seeping into your attic and walls to cause significant water damage. It’s a problem that you never want to deal with, but you can enact the following measures to decrease the likelihood of them forming:
- Invest in a roof rake to sweep excess snowfall off of the roof
- Make sure your gutters are clean and working prior to the winter season
- Investigate your attic’s insulation to look for imperfections – improve/fix insulation inadequacies
Solutions For Ice Dams
If you’ve enacted any of the preventative measures and an ice dam still found a way to take shape on your roof, the next step is to determine how to get rid of it. This can sometimes be easier said than done – you want to eliminate the ice dam, but do so without damaging the structural integrity of your roof! In the event that an ice dam does form on your roof, we recommend any of the following measures to combat it:
- Consult a professional for snow removal after big storms – Some roofing contractors have steam systems that can remove ice dams safely
- Fill a nylon stocking with calcium-chloride ice melt and lay it over the edge of the roof. It will melt a channel into the ice dam where the water can run off.
Water Damage Restoration From Ice Dams With Soil-Away
Even if you enact all the proper protocols for ice dams, they can still seep water into your home and cause damage to its interior structure. For expert repairs that leave no stone unturned, Soil-Away is your best bet! We’ll ensure that no trace of any water damage is left by the time we’re done – you wouldn’t even know that your property was damaged in the first place! If you’re dealing with an ice dam or other water damage, don’t leave the restoration to chance. Contact Soil-Away today to be put in the best possible hands!
