Ice. Ice. Baby. Damming.

Ice skating. Vanilla Ice. Ice-T. Italian ice. All great things.

Ice damming? Not so great. And unfortunately, thanks to the crazy weather we have been getting hit with – unavoidable.

Have no fear… I’m here to give you all the chilling details on ice dams.

Refresh my memory, Ashley. What is ice damming?

Here’s how it happens. While we are nice and warm in our houses, the ice gods are plotting against us. The heat that we love so much rises and heats up the roof, causing the snow to melt. The melted snow then runs down the roof to the edges that are below the freezing point and POOF – Ice Dam. As if the large ridge of ice wasn’t bad enough, as the snow above continues to melt and run down, it now has nowhere to go. This is when it starts to seep under shingles and leak into the house.

Ice Dams Cause More Damage Than You Think

Ice dams are sneaky and can cause all sorts of damage:

• The sheer weight of them can rip gutters off the house
• Damaged Shingles
• Soaked Insulation
• Damaged Drywall
• Peeling Paint
• Water-Stained Ceilings
• HUGE HEADACHES

Fast Ice Dam Fixes

If you’re reading this article now, you likely have snow on your roof and may already have ice dams forming. The preventative tips aren’t going to help you at this point. So here are some quick fixes for the ice dams and your reminder to make a note for yourself to come back for preventative tips from us in the fall!

Quick Fix #1: Get yourself a snow rake.

Snow rakes are inexpensive and thanks to things like Amazon Prime, you can have them in your hands pretty fast! Snow rakes help you pull the snow off your roof to prevent it from melting and damming up. And you can do this from the safety of the ground! No crazy acrobats needed with ladders and balancing on the roof.

Quick Fix #2: Get crafty with Calcium Chloride

Most people get crafty with glitter and paint. But when it comes to ice dams, you’ll need some different supplies. Calcium Chloride and some old stockings. The important thing here is you need CALCIUM CHLORIDE-based ice melt – not just any old rock salt. If it’s not calcium chloride-based, you could damage your shingles.

Fill up the old stocking with the calcium chloride and lay it on the roof crossing the ice dam and over the gutter. This is going to melt the snow and ice and create a path for the water to flow down off the roof.

Quick Fix #3: Steam-It!

You read that right. There are steamers out there that can be used to melt the snow and ice off of your roof. Calling a local contractor and having them take care of this for you is going to be far less expensive than the damage you’d have on your hands if you don’t get it taken care of!

Now that you are equipped with some fast fixes for ice dams, don’t give your roof the cold shoulder… throw on your jacket and go check it out!