02/04/2026
PSA:
-Ice Dams:
With sustained cold and inches upon inches of snow it is very typical on many homes to see large formations of ice. These start inside of your gutters either because they are not flowing water adequately, a large amount of snowfall occurred within a short period of time, poor insulation and attic/roof space no circulating air properly separate from the main living space, or a combination of all the above.
The weight of these icicles should not be left to grow this large as in the picture above… they can be hazardous to you and the home itself. The most important thing to do if it gets this bad is have the weight removed. This should be done by someone who is comfortable up on a ladder and with a teammate carefully working from above to ensure no one or anything below is in the path of the falling ice. In northeast Ohio when the snow gets above 6 inches and you have gutter areas that are prone to forming ice like this it is best to use a roof snow rake or make one from some rope and a plank of wood to throw up on the roof and pull snow off of the roof as much as possible. At least the bottom, few feet closest to the gutters before ice starts to form. Another ice damning prevention Tip is to install an appropriate plug-in and GFI protected heating cable in the fall ahead of the snow. Often times just removing a few feet of snow from along the roofs edge can prevent major ice damming along with cleaning your gutters at least twice a year. Once this much ice occurs, there’s not much to be done, but to nature thaw it out and inspect of the damage afterwards. Heavyweight ice can rip down the gutter and facia boards, leaving the edge of the roof, even more open to the elements and causing expensive repairs. Furthermore, when there is ice jamming up like this… during freezing and thawing, the ice can work its way up under the shingles and into your home, causing wood rot, plaster/drywall damage, and mold. 
