Icicles hanging from your gutters may give your home a cozy, “winter wonderland” vibe, but they also indicate a problem with your home’s performance. Left untreated, these “beautiful” icicles and ice dams can damage your home and lead to costly repairs – not to mention the fact that they can also endanger anyone standing below. Fortunately, Gutter Helmet®, the leading manufacturer of leaf guard for gutters, has the solution: Helmet Heat®, a product that slows the formation of icicles in the first place.
Here, the winter weather experts at Gutter Helmet walk you through what to know about icicles and how to protect your home from the damage they can cause.
What Causes Icicles to Form on Your Gutters
Icicles form when snow that has melted re-freezes as it drips toward the ground. The type of icicles to look out for are the ones hanging from your gutters. If your home isn’t insulated properly, heat will rise up through the attic, melting any snow that has accumulated on your roof. This melted snow will then trickle down to your gutters, where (if you haven’t installed a reliable ice reduction system like Helmet Heat) it re-freezes, creating ice dams and icicles.
How Icicles and Ice Dams Can Damage Your Home
Without Helmet Heat to heat your gutters, icicles will continue to grow bigger and bigger, posing a number of risks to your home and your safety. The weight of the growing icicles can damage your gutters or even cause them to break off from the house, causing costly damage. Additionally, ice dams can back up underneath your shingles, leading to leaks and water damage inside your home.
Not only can icicles cause costly damage to your house, they can also endanger you and your family. A heavy icicle can break off from the gutter and fall to the ground, injuring anyone who happens to be below. Trying to remove icicles on your own is also hazardous to yourself and your roof.
How Helmet Heat® Reduces Icicles
When warm air escapes through your house due to poor insulation, it melts the snow that has accumulated on your roof. The melted snow flows down toward your gutters – the coldest part of your roof – where it re-freezes.
The Helmet Heat Ice Reduction System by Gutter Helmet is a self-regulating device that increases the temperature of your gutters when it detects a drop in the ambient temperature. By keeping your gutters just warm enough to prevent the melted snow from re-freezing, it reduces the formation of icicles and ice dams. Gutter guard reviews point to Helmet Heat as the most effective and reliable tool on the market to defend your home against the danger of icicles and ice dams.
Contact Us
The best way to spare yourself from the damage and danger of icicles and ice dams is to slow them from forming in the first place. Call today to speak to an experienced professional at Gutter Helmet about installing Helmet Heat in your system.
