For those of us who live in Minnesota, we know that winters can be especially hard on our roofs and gutters. Just take a walk around your own neighborhood, and you’ll find roofs covered with snow. Some may have ice dams, and some may have icicles dangling along the edges. Icicles and ice dams on the roof and gutters are signs that something is not right up there.
Ice dams are buildups of ice along the eaves or edges of your roof. It is a result of the complex interaction between the snow on the roof and the heat inside your home. The warm air that leaks from your attic causes snow to melt and refreeze continuously, trapping moisture and water under your roof’s outer layer in the process. The moisture makes your roof structure vulnerable to molds and rotting while the water that backs up behind the ice buildup can leak into the ceilings and walls of your home.
It’s important to reduce ice dams so that they can’t cause leaks. Here are four tips to do so:
1. Remove snow from your roof. Start simple. This can be done using a snow rake, which will not require you to use a ladder. Snow is a primary ingredient in the formation of ice buildup, so if your roof is clear of it, then ice dams cannot form.
2. Seal air leaks. The other main component in ice dam formation is heat lost through slits and gaps inside your home. If warmth does not creep up to your roof, the snow will not melt and then refreeze later on. Air leaks can be sealed by caulking or weather stripping. Seal gaps in the ceiling so that warm, moist air cannot reach the attic and cause the snow to melt on your roof.
3. Add insulation. Heat travels to the roof in two ways: (1) by conduction through the slanted portion of the ceiling and (2) by convection through the top surface of the insulation. Adding insulation helps keep the temperatures in different areas of the attic space uniform, reducing heat loss through conduction and convection in the process.
4. Install a gutter cover. Ice can also build up inside your gutters. These can turn to icicles, which, if left unchecked, can tear off your gutters. Covers (or “helmets”) can be mounted over the gutter opening to keep ice dams from forming in them.
We at Home Solutions Midwest understand the importance of keeping our gutters not only clog-free but also clear of ice dams. We specialize in installing Gutter Helmet®, the best gutter cover available today. It has a texturized surface that increases surface tension so that the water falls smoothly into the gutters and not anywhere else in the house. Its “nose-forward” design and narrow slit keep snow, leaves, twigs, and other types of debris out of the gutter so that it stays clog-free. Call us today to learn more about how this high-quality product works and how it can protect your gutters from ice dams.
