Saturday, October 17, 2009

Ice dam prevention




Ice dams on the roofs of houses or other buildings can be a huge problem for people living in cold areas. When ice dams occur, water backs up behind them. As it backs up, it can work its way through cracks and under shingles. You can see it running out of soffets or through ceilings and/or walls. Additionally, it flows over the dam, forming icicles. Water can drip onto sidewalk areas and refreeze when it hits the cold surface.
There is a couple of ways to prevent ice dams from forming and causing thousands of dollars in damage. One way is to install electrical heating coils on the roof. This is a very expensive ordeal. We have found an inexpensive and environmentally safe way to prevent ice dams. There is a new product on the market called the Ice Dam Blaster. Pete, the inventor is a chemist by trade.


Ice dams do their damage when there is running water (melted snow) on the roof. This same running water is needed to activate the de-icer to form a brine and work through the ice dam.
How it works: When the de-icers dissolve in the running water, they lower the freezing point of the water. Every de-icer acts differently. The key is to use the correct material to match the intended performance. There are some products out there that can remove and prevent ice dams, however they use harmful chemical ingredients and salts that damage and corrode your roof, and kill the vegetation underneath. Roof de-icers must be non-damaging to the roofing system and the vegetation below (where it runs off). It should not stain the roof and must be easy to put in place. That is EXACTLY what the Ice Dam Blaster does. You should check these out if you have ice dams. They are very inexpensive at around $12, and very effective.

6 comments:

  1. Price went up slightly this year but very affordable at $16 retail. Small change to save all of that damage to your home !

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  3. If you live in the north you are going to get ice dams. The first thing to do when you have an ice dam is to open a channel in the ice to drain away the water and stop leaks into the house. A refillable snow melt sock or ice melt sock thrown on the roof and pulled into place will open a channel in minutes.

    Insulating properly goes along way to prevention of ice dams and there are many other expensive engineering solutions, but most of them kinda make you think about the story of the truck wedged under the bridge and how nobody could figure out how to pull it out until a little boy said, "Why dont you just let some air out of the tires and drive it out."

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  4. Are you selling thisproduct online or through a distribtor? Im a contractor in the Pacific Northwest where can I get one?

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  5. Yes, Sweetfilter... our product works that way. It opens up a channel for the water to flow. It uses CMA which is non-corrosive, and doesn't harm vegetation below. Anything else in the "Sock", like salt or calcium chloride, will be harmful to roofing materials, and vegetation.

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  6. Mike,

    This product is available online for anyone. We are always looking for dealers, contact us for info. 1-866-398-9598, or email: info@greenicemelt.com

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