Large Ice Hanging from a Roof Can Damage More Than Just Your Gutters

Many people find that removing the icicles from their gutters in winter is a harrowing task that can lead to great pain and plenty of suffering. Being careful in the event you do have to remove hanging ice from the edges of your roof or gutter is essential.

First never do a dangerous job without having a safety person standing by to help you in case there is an accident. You may think that it will all be fine since you have done it a hundred times, but believe me it is not worth getting hurt so wait until someone is around to save you if things go awry.

Next you need to decide how you want to proceed with your ice removal process. If you don't have heat trace wires along the roof edge then chances are your ice is building up way beyond the edge of your gutters. In this case you have to make sure to keep heavy mounds of snow off the roof as much as you can.

This calls for a secure ladder and one of those long wide aluminum roof rakes that you use to drag the snow off your roof. These can be dangerous as you are pulling a lot of weight towards yourself, and if you are not stable the ladder can topple leaving you on the ground in pain.

Knocking the long icicles down can be a very dangerous task, and should not be done without a hard hat, steel toe boots, good leather gloves, and safety glasses. The ice is heavy and often the chunks will hit your head or foot and this can do some heavy damage.

I take the longest flat shovel that I own and with the tip or back side of the shovel I stand out from the ice as far as I can reach so that the falling chunks will miss me by at least three feet. When attacking larger ice I will take chunks off slowly moving from the bottom up to the top. This way I am not taking a six or eight foot icicle down all at once.

I make sure to keep a plywood sheet handy to cover over any windows which may be damaged when the big ice chunks fall. I also keep some ice melt materials handy in case one of my downspouts is frozen up. This is not good to put up on the roof, so I will only sprinkle it lightly across the gutter with a handful at the end where the downspout is.

The best defense is a strong offense, and if you can get some heat trace wire put up that is one of the simplest methods of prevention. These may cost a few dollars a month to operate but they can prevent hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of damages in the future.

If that is not an option then keeping as much snow off your roof as you can is a good second best option. When in doubt call in a professional, typically roofers will have all the tools, knowledge, and skills to do this ice removal job correctly and safely. It is just not worth the risk of getting hurt when you can easily find someone who can help you do it safely.