Water damage is usually caused by leaks in the water pipes, overflowing of a water source or heavy flooding. People living in cold places do not know that water damage can also be caused by ice dams which occur when snow accumulates on the edge of a slanted roof and is aggravated by poor and insufficient insulation. This can lead to leaky roofs, cracks in the wall, water stains and peels in your paint job.

To know more about ice dams and the potential damage it can bring to you and your property, here are some basic information that you need to know in order to avoid being a victim to this unlikely source of water damage.

How are ice dams formed?

During the cold winter season, snow usually accumulates on the roof, which in turn is melted by the warmth from the house coming up on the roof. The process of melting will yield water, which will seep under the blanket of snow and flow to the gutters, where they will again freeze due to the cold climate. The whole process will be repeated until such a time when the ice in the gutter forms a barricade to stop the melted snow from draining.

How do I prevent ice dams from forming?

As an important note, ice dams usually form when the external roof temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. One way of preventing the formation of ice dams is to regulate the heat loss from your property. In doing this, you must check that your insulation is still properly installed and neither damaged nor wet. If it is wet, your insulation needs to be dried out. Depending on the extent of the damage, you might need to replace it with a new one if you see that it is working poorly.

What to do with ice dams?

As an important reminder, dealing with ice dams in the winter season will require you to stand on the roof which is dangerous. You should consider hiring a professional to do this for you.

Fast and immediate action is needed to prevent ice dams from further causing problems. To counter this, you must remove the presence of ice in your roof to eliminate the possibility of the ice dams getting worse.

To further remove the ice dams, you can create channels in the dams to allow water to flow through. You can try running warm water through the channels to help melt the ice.

The solutions mentioned to relieve water damage above are temporary. If you want to prevent ice dams from forming in the future, you can increase the roof insulation to reduce the loss of heat by the process of conduction. Before doing this, you must first study if your roof can hold the additional weight. If your property is built based on present building codes, this should not be a problem.

In water damage situations like this, it is better to be prepared and think of ways to prevent it. Why would you wait for it to happen, when you can prevent water damage from happening in the first place? An important solution to combat problems like these is to be well-informed. So that when you are faced with the situation, you will know what to do in order to solve it.