BOISE, Idaho — Icicles may look picturesque, but seeing them on your house could be a sign of a problem to come. If you lived in Idaho in 2017, you might remember ice dams causing a lot of problems for homeowners during the so-called ‘snowmageddon.’
"When you have a lot of snow on your roof, and it starts to melt because of warmer temperatures inside or outside your home, it travels down to the edge of your roof and freezes, forming an ice dam,” KTVB Meteorologist Sophia Bliss said. “Whenever snow melts on your roof, it can get trapped behind the ice dam, and can work its way underneath your roof shingles, once that happens, you can have a leak in your house."
In 2017, both Skyler Johns from Express Plumbing, Heating and Air and Jake Watson at Idaho Custom Rain Gutters serviced homes where ice dams were formed.
“It was a lot of property damage to homes,” Johns said. “We got a lot of calls where water was coming through the ceiling, they were thinking [it was a] pipe break, but it ended up being an ice dam… it was not a good time for homeowners.”
Both men added it's important to take preventative measures.
“It's probably something that you want to address similar to your driveway and sidewalk clearing schedule,” Watson said. “Once that snow falls, get it out of the way as soon as possible to keep the avenue clear for that water that's melting to shut off the roof as efficiently as it can.”
Johns also recommends taking measures before the snow falls.
“Make sure your ducts are properly sealed,” Johns said. “Whether that be your supply or your return ducts for your home, because that will obviously melt that snow a lot faster.”
They also recommend using snow rakes if you can, to clear that snow off of the roof and keep your gutters clear of leaves and branches because ice dams can form when the water is not able to flow out.
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