If you’re experiencing sudden water leaks and mold growth in your home during the winter season, you’re likely a victim of pesky ice dams. Whether this is your first time dealing with ice dams, or you’ve dealt with them before, removing them on your own is tedious. Many Kitchener-Waterloo homeowners have started depending on roof melt for removing ice dams on their roof easily, but that doesn’t make it the best solution. Using roof melt for ice dams is known to damage your roof shingles. In this blog, we’ll uncover what makes roof melt harmful for your roof and the best option for removing ice dams without roof damage.
How Does Roof Melt Work
Roof melt is a tablet you can buy in bulk at local retailers that removes ice dams from your roof. It melts down on the surface of your roof and melts snow and ice dams upon contact, which then drains from your roof and drips onto the ground. According to the instructions, roof melt tablets can be thrown onto your roof without any need to be on your roof to apply it.
Roof melt is meant to eliminate ice dams. Ice dams are a common build-up of ice that appears at the edges of your roof during winter. When the snow on your roof melts, it travels from the top of your roof to the edge, where the temperature of your roof tends to be lowest. This causes the water to refreeze, creating the ice dam. It is especially common in places like Kitchener and Waterloo, where snowfall is frequent and temperatures lower rapidly during the winter season. The ice dams trap water and snow at the higher parts of the roof, which leads water to leak into the house. This causes mold and mildew growth, as well as damage to your roof and home.
Can I Use Roof Melt to Remove Ice Dams on My Kitchener-Waterloo Roof?
No. We don’t recommend using roof melt to remove ice dams. Although roof melt will remove the ice dams, it also damages your roof shingles in the process. Sturdy roof shingles prevent water damage to your home. In the future, you will have to pay a roofing company to repair your damaged roof shingles and other areas of your roof prone to being damaged by roof melt.
How Roof Melt Damages Roof Shingles
Roof melt is made of chemicals which warp and crack your shingles, making them weaker over time, especially with repeated use of the roof melt throughout the winter seasons. Roof melt is known to cause discoloration of your shingles and corrode metal on your roof, including your gutters.
In addition to roof damage, the roof melt drains from your roof to the ground, posing a danger to animals, as well as any trees, grass, and shrubbery the chemicals come into contact with.
Removing Ice Dams Without Roof Melt in Kitchener-Waterloo
Ice dams are a nuisance to deal with in Kitchener-Waterloo weather, but are nevertheless an extremely common occurrence. Unfortunately, most DIY methods for snow removal cause roof damage. If they don’t cause damage, they put the homeowner in danger. We advise all Kitchener-Waterloo homeowners to avoid DIY ice dam solutions. Working on top of your icy and slippery roof during the winter is not worth the risk!
More often than not, the reason ice dams appear is due to issues with your roof’s structure and gutters. Don’t wait for minor roofing issues, such as ice dams, to become costly problems. Prevent unnecessary damage to your roof by reaching out to Kitchener-Waterloo’s roofing replacement experts at Quality Care! We’ll give you a quality roof replacement and gutter cleaning to improve your roof’s natural drainage and prevent any future ice dam build-up.
To schedule a free estimate, click the button below, or contact us at (226) 606-8320.