When you’re skating on a pond on a brisk winter day, or enjoying a cool glass of lemonade in the heat of summer, ice can be your best friend. However, when it comes to protecting your roof and your home, ice is your worst enemy. Like, arch-nemesis kind of thing. Like Batman and the Joker. Make sure you’re prepared this winter by following our tips to combat ice dams!

Why do bad ice dams happen to good people?

We ask ourselves that question all the time. Ice dams happen when water from melting snow runs down the surface of your roof and refreezes, causing the ice to build up and “dam.” This can allow water to leak inside your house, destroy your gutters and even pull off shingles. Can you say, “worst case scenario?”

Knock out the ice dams

The best way to prevent ice dams is to call a contractor yesterday. But luckily for you, today will be just fine! As long as you call a qualified contractor to seal and insulate your attic space before the weather gets bad, you can minimize the damage. They can also help you keep your attic ventilated so that any warm air that does get inside is whisked away. It’s a one-two punch to winter’s wrath!

Those fickle leaves won’t go away

You know those perfect fall days where you want to ignore all the fallen leaves and just watch football all day? Well, those leaves are mad that you ignored them and now they’re clogging your gutter. But if you keep your gutters clear of leaves and snow, then your downspouts can do their job. And pick up a roof-rake at the hardware store to help clear the snow—it’s well worth the investment!

Ice Dam-it!

Okay, so despite your efforts you still have an ice dam. Calm down, take a deep breath, and attack the problem. Use a melting agent like calcium chloride. However, don’t use a blow torch (do we really have to say that?) because you’ll probably end up causing more problems than you started with. Just trust us on this one.

Source: https://www.arbella.com/