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How to Melt a Roof Ice Dam with Pantyhose and Ice Melt Products

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If you

live in one of the cold northern states, you are familiar with the concept of a roof ice dam. Unfortunately, once a roof ice dam forms, they are very difficult to remove. Many home owners just try to work around them until spring when the warmer weather comes and the ice finally thaws and melts.

What is a Roof Ice Dam

A roof ice dam occurs when rain and melted snow run into the gutters of a house and then freezes before it drains out. As precipitation continues to fall, the sheet of ice then backs up onto the roof of the house. This creates a frozen block of ice over the gutter called a roof ice dam. The problem with a roof ice dam is that if rain and snow continues, there is nowhere for the water to drain to. Thus, the water invades the roofline of the home, runs under shingles and can run down the interior walls cause leaks and water damage.

Melt a Roof Ice Dam with Pantyhose and Ice Melt Products

But there is another way to combat a roof ice dam using a basic pair of women's panty hose and ice melt products.

Take a pair of scissors and cut the legs off of a pair of women's pantyhose. Cut them off as close to the top as possible.
Fill each leg of the pantyhose seventy five percent full with one of the ice melt products. Ice melt products are made of calcium chloride and comes in a crystal form so they are easy to simply scoop it into the pantyhose.
Once the pantyhose is filled with ice melt product, tie the top of the pantyhose into a knot.

Place the Pantyhose on the Roof Ice Dam
Climb up a ladder to access the roof of the home.

Place the panty hose leg over the roof line so that lies on top of the roof ice dam. Part of the hose hangs on the roof and part of the pantyhose hangs over the gutter. You don't have to climb on the roof to do this, just push the pantyhose as far as you can. Place at least one pantyhose section on each roof ice dam.

The ice melt product contained in the pantyhose will begin to melt the roof ice dam, thus creating a way for the additional water to drain off of the house.

Now some people say that the house does not look very good with pantyhose hanging all over the roof, and they would be right. But it's a lot better than repairing interior leak damage that a roof ice dam can cause.