Why Professional Ice Dam Removal Matters for Minnesota Homeowners

Ice dams are a perennial problem for Minnesota homeowners. Each winter, they’re easy to spot dangling from roof corners and gutters, and if seeing them doesn’t make you shiver with a sense of dread, they should.

Insurance companies spend millions of dollars annually – some years upwards of $50 million – in home repairs caused by ice dam damage. And that’s just from the claims that are filed. Some homeowners don’t have full coverage for ice dam-related damage or still have to pay hefty deductibles out of pocket.

Knowing how to handle ice dams as they form each winter gives your property and pocketbook a fighting chance. Call on professional ice dam removal experts, like our team at Clean ‘N Seal, to ensure the safety of your home.

How Do Ice Dams Form?

Ice dams form after a snow and as your house undergoes freeze-thaw cycles. Even just one inch of snow on your roof can allow ice dams to start forming. As the sun and escaping heat from your home heat up your roof during the day, snow on your roof melts and runs toward the edges and gutters.

At night, as temperatures drop below freezing, all that snowmelt refreezes. Ice then blocks your gutters and creates a dam that forces water to refreeze into dangerous icicles along your gutters and edges or seeps under your shingles and into your ceiling and walls.

Ice Dam Removal to Protect Your Home

If not removed, ice dams can cause catastrophic damage to your home. The extreme weight of ice dams, hundreds and even thousands of pounds depending on the size and area they’ve spread, can pull gutters off your roof edge and destabilize your roof.

Water seeping under your shingles damages your roof and leaks water into your home. Seemingly minor damage, like stains in your ceiling or walls, are unsightly but can also be signs of more severe structural damage inside your home or lead to mold and mildew growth in your walls.

The expense, even with the help of insurance, to clean and repair your home’s roof, ceiling, walls, structural integrity, and more can be steep. It is better to call on a professional to remove ice dams before they can cause any damage to your property.

Call on Professionals for Ice Dam Removal

While there are some steps you can take to remove ice dams yourself, the potential risk of injuring yourself or harming your roof or gutters is high. Using roof rakes to brush off snow from your edges is a good start to preventing ice dams from forming, but they only reach so far onto your roof when used from the ground.

While it may be possible to climb on your roof to push snow off of it, that’s a dangerous risk for a homeowner to take. Likewise, propping up a ladder and trying to chip away at ice dams is not only a danger to you but can also damage your roof or gutter. Ice clings to your shingles and roofing surface, so attempting to bludgeon it off often causes bits of roofing material to rip off, too.

Turn to our reliable professionals to take care of ice dams safely and efficiently!

Effective Equipment

Pros use specialized pressurized steam equipment to melt ice dams and clear your roof. Steam is highly effective at melting ice dams and requires no chemicals or deicer agents. In fact, no runoff occurs with the use of steam, except water from the melted snow and ice.

Safer Removal

Pressurized steam is also safe on your shingles and roofing materials. Since there is no scraping or chemical component, no harm can come to your roof from using this equipment.

Instead of daring to climb ladders in winter or scaling your roof yourself, let the professionals with years of experience and training safely remove ice dams from your roof.

More Efficient Removal Process

Along with a safer removal process, professional ice dam removers are also efficient. Roof raking, attempting to chip away at the ice, or trying chemical deicers to melt ice takes hours, even days, of continuous effort.

With pressurized steam equipment, pros can remove all ice, snow, and ice dams from your roof and gutters in just a few short hours.

Ice Dam Removal With the Pros at Clean ‘N Seal

For the experienced professionals you need to safely remove ice dams and protect your home all winter long, choose the Clean ‘N Seal team. From paver restoration to house washing to media blasting, our pros keep your exterior surfaces clean, safe, and safeguarded from the elements.

Call us today at 952.393.9588 or contact us online for a free estimate!