How to Remove an Ice Dam

11/21/2018 (Permalink)

Ice dam that is located on the roof of a house

Removing an ice dam from your roof immediately after spotting the signs can be critical to helping prevent damage to your home. One way to remove an ice dam is to melt it using calcium chloride ice melt.

Step 1. Using a roof rake, remove snow 3-4 feet from the edge of your roof, being careful not to damage the roof covering

Step 2. Use a calcium chloride ice melt product, which you can generally purchase from your local hardware store. DO NOT use rock salt or sodium chloride, which can damage your roof!

Step 3. Fill a nylon stocking with the calcium chloride ice melt.

Step 4. Safely place and position the calcium chloride-filled nylon stocking vertically across the ice dam so that it can melt a channel through the ice.

Step 5. To protect your plants cover your shrubs below.  This is important because the calcium chloride-saturated water dripping from the roof may damage the shrubbery and plants.