When your roof heats up and snow begins to melt the resulting water flowing down your roof needs a place to go.
My gutters is clogged and full of ice.
Clogged gutters will only accelerate the process of ice damming and over flow when the gutters fill up with ice and snow.
That allows water to easily flow to the downspout.
Find out in this blog post.
When winter storms hit gutters and downspouts sometimes freeze into solid blocks of ice and homeowners understandably worry about gutters pulling away from the roofs or ice dams forming.
Do you know how to remove an ice dam.
First resist the urge to go after the ice with a hammer or axe.
Clogged gutters can also cause water leaks on the inside of your home.
It s the most common reason for overflowing gutters.
While frozen gutters and downspouts may lead to water damage from ice dams or from gutters pulling away from the roof the solution can be as bad as the potential problems.
If the gutter is tilting away from your house it could be causing an overflow particularly during heavy storms.
This causes mold leaks and water stains.
Unless you happen to be mother nature there s no rock solid way to cheaply quickly and effectively thaw ice filled gutters and downspouts.
When it forms the water then backs up behind the ice dam and creates a pool of water.
Icicles are an after effect of ice damming and clogged gutters can contribute to this problem.
In many cases clogged gutters are the direct cause of ice dams.
Trapped water can rot the wooden fascia boards your gutters are mounted to letting moisture enter your home.
Ice in your gutters and downspouts can turn into a major problem in the winter.
When water freezes in your gutters because of debris preventing drainage it forces the melting ice and snow underneath the shingles on your roof and into your home.
Another way gutters are damaged from snow and ice is from bearing the excessive weight of a big snow fall.
By keeping your ice levels to a minimum you can ensure that water drains properly from your home.
Make sure your gutters are properly sloped rain gutters should slope 1 2 inch for every 10 feet.
If ice dams form on the base of your roof the melting snow will quickly refreeze and add extra weight on your gutters.
The pitch and tilt of your gutters make all of the difference.
While clogged gutters do not actually cause ice dams they can definitely worsen the problem.
This pool of water can leak into your home and cause damage to walls ceilings insulation and other areas.
To keep the snow on your roof from melting make sure your roof is well insulated and that warm air is not escaping.
How gutter blockage helps ice dams form.
Here are some things you can do to prevent ice in gutters and downspouts.
And thankfully it s relatively easy to fix more on this topic below.
Wall and ceiling damage.
An ice dam is a wall of ice that forms at the edge of the roof usually at the gutters or soffit.