How to Keep Gutters From Freezing
Icicles may look pretty, but they can cause major damage to your home — especially if they’re forming on your home’s rain gutters. Water expands when it freezes, which can cause your rain gutters to warp and crack under the additional pressure. Gutters clogged with ice can also lead to the formation of ice dams on your roof, which can create serious water damage inside your home. Melting snow that isn’t draining properly can also puddle around your foundation, resulting in leaks in your basement and a slew of other issues. The best way to prevent the damage caused by frozen ice on gutters is to keep gutters from freezing or icing up in the first place.
1. Make Sure Your Gutters Are Properly Sloped
The right rain gutter slope allows water to drain through your gutters to your downspout. If your gutters are too flat, water can sit there instead. If you allow water the chance to stand still in the gutters overnight, you run the risk of the water freezing and forming ice. Be sure to assess your gutters and adjust the slope if needed before cold weather sets in. This way, you can avoid iced gutters that are caused by poor drainage.
2. Keep Gutters Clean
Once all the leaves have fallen from the trees in your yard, clean your gutters one last time before winter. Soggy leaves and other debris will block water and allow it to pool — and any water that doesn’t drain is likely to freeze and form ice, causing problems like iced gutters that last for prolonged periods over the wintertime.
3. Consider Adding Sodium Chloride
Just as rock salt will melt ice on your walkways, sodium chloride itself can melt ice in your gutters. A sprinkling of sodium chloride can nip gutter ice problems in the bud if you notice icicles beginning to form.
4. Remove Snow From Your Roof
Sometimes a big blizzard makes it nearly impossible to keep gutters from freezing or icing up. To keep them free of snow after the storm, invest in a roof rake to clear snow from the eaves and gutters as soon as you can.
5. Try Heated Gutter Cables
If you still get ice in gutters despite your best efforts, purchase a heated cable designed for gutters and rooftops. String this along the top of your gutter, where its gentle heat will melt the ice in your gutters so that the remaining water will shed away from your home.
Stop Gutters From Freezing with Professional Gutter Services
When it comes to keeping your gutters from freezing or icing out this winter, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Try following our 5 tips to avoiding ice damage to your gutters, but at the end of the day, we understand that not all damage is avoidable. At American Hill Country Gutters, our team is experienced in treating and fixing issues related to ice-damaged gutters. Because of this, we’re confident in our ability to help you whenever winter weather becomes too much for your home’s gutters. If you do end up needing to fix ice-damaged gutters in the San Antonio, TX area, contact American Hill Country Gutters for prompt, professional maintenance and repair.
