Living in the Twin Cities Minnesota area, you’ve probably seen ice dams without even knowing what they’re called or taking the time to wonder whether they’re a cause for concern. An ice dam is a buildup of ice on top of roof eaves, which leaves large icicles hanging from your gutters and rooftop. When you see them, you might just think, “Wow, that’s a huge icicle,” and you might even think it’s a dangerously large icicle. The fact, ice dams can be extremely dangerous if left to themselves, as they’re liable to fall at any time, especially when they become too heavy to stay attached to the snow and ice resting on your roof. Fortunately, there are means of protecting your home from ice dam buildups with simple ice dam prevention precautions that will keep everyone around your home safe. If you want to prevent ice dam buildups on your roof this year, look to Minnesota Leafless Gutters for useful ice dam prevention tips that will help you keep those dangerously large icicles from growing on your eaves.
What Causes Ice Dam Buildups?
Ice dam buildups occur when the snow on your roof melts and refreezes. While it would be preferable for melted snow to stay melted and run through your gutters, this doesn’t always happen and in fact, it usually doesn’t happen. Usually, ice dam buildups are caused by an overheated attic, which causes the snow on top of your roof to melt and flow downward. However, when the temperature outside varies too much from the temperature of your attic, once the melted snow reaches the edge of the roof, it freezes again because there’s less heat at the edges of your roof than in the center. The more snow melts, the larger your ice dams become, and the more dangerous those overgrown icicles look.
Ice Damn Prevention with Attic Insulation
Keeping your attic at a temperature that will prevent ice dam buildups involves properly insulating your attic. Make sure that you have the proper amount of insulation this year so that, if you need to lay additional insulation to keep your attic at a lower temperature, you can do it now rather than in mid-winter. If there are sections of your roof that always seem to form ice dams, there’s a good chance that your insulation in these sections is poor, so you should at the very least check these areas for proper insulation to reduce the risk of ice dams.
Create Free Air Flow with Proper Attic Ventilation
Proper ventilation can also decrease the risk of ice dam buildups, helping heat flow freely through your attic without escaping through your roof. When your ventilation system is covered by insulation, or if you don’t have enough ventilation for the size of your attic, ice dams can build up where there is excess heat. To reduce the chance of having hot air pockets in the attic of your St. Paul or Minneapolis, Minnesota home, make the changes to your insulation and ventilation system to improve airflow throughout your attic and stop heat from escaping. For more information about ice dam prevention or the benefits of preventing ice dam buildups on your Twin Cities home, contact Minnesota Leafless Gutters at (612) 221-0362 or mnleaflessgutters@gmail.com.