Asked by: Sarahi Ogando
home and garden indoor environmental quality

What can you put on your roof to melt ice?

Last Updated: 22nd June, 2020

10
Using Calcium Chloride
An ice dam can easily be made of hundreds of gallons of water, so melting it all requires a lot of salt. Instead, fill old pantyhose with the calcium chloride and lay it across the dam. This will melt a channel to allow water to safely run off your roof and break up the dam for manual removal.

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Simply so, what ice melt is safe for roofs?

Most common high performance ice melters such as magnesium chloride or calcium chloride will certainly melt the ice, but they may also cause staining of the shingles and could also cause corrosion of the gutters, aluminum siding, or fasteners.

Secondly, is it safe to put calcium chloride on your roof? Yes, but if you use sodium chloride on your roof, you'll soon run into trouble with your shingles. Instead of using sodium chloride, many people use calcium chloride. Some people throw pantyhose stuffed with calcium chloride onto the roof so that the ice will melt and break up the snow pack on the roof.

Also know, how do you melt ice off your roof?

By pouring calcium chloride into this tube-like form, you can position it vertically over the dam—with the sock's end hanging an inch or two over the roof edge—and melt a tube-like channel through the ice dam, which will allow additional water that melts to run safely off the roof.

Is Roof Melt safe to use?

Use Roof Melt tablets to reduce snow and ice buildup that occurs on your roof, typically on the eaves and in gutters. The tablets are specially formulated with calcium chloride so they won't harm your exterior like products such as rock salt, which could rust your gutters and damage shingles.

Related Question Answers

Nouradine Spliethoff

Professional

Is it OK to put ice melt on your roof?

Putting rock salt and ice melt directly on your roof will damage shingles, but by filling the socks with salt and ice melt, tying them off and sticking a few in your gutters, it will help clear them out. While it's rarer, ice damming can also occur on roofs without gutters.

Larbi Apestegui

Professional

What kind of salt is safe for roofs?

Calcium chloride is the best salt to use on ice dams, according to handyman Glenn Haege. It is not as likely to stain or cause corrosion as sodium chloride, but it can damage wooden gutters.

Brian Agumaa

Professional

How long does Roof Melt take to work?

Apply 1 tablet on every SQFT Of Problem Area. FAST ACTING: Begins working within 1 Hour of application. Roofmelt begins to work when it comes into contact with snow and ice, the Roofmelt and water mixture begin to melt away the existing ice dam.

Rosanne Alperovich

Explainer

Does Salt hurt shingles?

It rusts nail heads: Rock salt doesn't hurt asphalt shingles much, but it can cause the nails holding your shingles to the roof to corrode. Salt then gets in through the porous surfaces and accelerates freeze-thaw damage in much the same way as with concrete/asphalt driveways.

Arend Netti

Explainer

What causes ice damming?

Ice dams occur after a heavy snowfall when warm air in the attic causes the roof to warm and the snow to melt. Water running down the roof refreezes when it reaches the colder roof edge, forming a mound of ice.

Thorsten Bairashevski

Pundit

What is CMA ice melt?

Pure Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) deicer is granulated calcium magnesium acetate, formulated from dolomitic lime and acetic acid. CMA ice melt is a low corrosion environmental alternative to road salt and is approved by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.

Hendrik Jaureguibeitia

Pundit

Do Salt pucks work?

Salt pucks and salt-filled pantyhose are unwise approaches to ice dam removal: They rarely work, and they damage your roof. So if you've used salt pucks and you end up with a roof leak anyway (as I expect you will), the leaking water will carry some of the salt with it!

Otilia Jung

Pundit

How do you get rid of ice dams fast?

Here are five ways to remove an ice dam from your roof.
  1. Eliminate its “fuel source.” If left alone, the ice dam will continue to be built up by the snow and ice up on your roof.
  2. Chip away.
  3. Use a chemical de-icer product.
  4. Reuse old stockings or panty hose.
  5. Spray warm water.

Fozia Kendrick

Pundit

Are ice dams covered by homeowners insurance?

ice dams and homeowners insurance
Fortunately, standard homeowners insurance policies (including those from Esurance) provide coverage for ice dam damage — including any water damage to your home that's suddenly and unexpectedly caused by ice damming.

Imrane Dolezisch

Pundit

How do you melt ice dams fast?

Fast Fixes for Ice Dams: Deice It
You can also diminish the damage after the dam has formed with panty hose! Fill the leg of discarded pair of panty hose with a calcium chloride ice melter. Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter.

Jinane Ludge

Teacher

How much does it cost to run roof heat tape?

Typical heat tape burns electricity at six to nine watts per foot per hour. That means each 100 feet of heat tape operating 24/7 can translate to an added monthly cost of $41 to $62 to operate heat tape, says Eileen Wysocki, energy auditor for Holy Cross Energy.

Tian Schierbaum

Teacher

Is roof raking necessary?

Q When is it necessary to use a roof rake? A Never, never use a roof rake or try to shovel snow off a slanted roof. It will do no good, will not cure ice dams, is extremely hazardous and can harm asphalt shingles and, in your case, slate shingles.

Agenor Targow

Teacher

How much does ice dam removal cost?

Ice dam removal will cost about $400-500 per hour, according to Zablocki. He said that, so far this winter, most jobs have taken between one-and-a-half to four hours — meaning one session of ice dam removal could cost you upwards of $2,000.

Lene Prenafeta

Teacher

Why are my gutters full of ice?

An ice dam forms when the roof over the attic gets warm enough to melt the underside of the layer of snow on the roof. Gutters at the eaves can also trap snow and ice. If snow and ice build up high enough in the gutter, it can provide a foundation for an ice dam.

Kymberly Jaume

Reviewer

Do gutter guards cause ice dams?

However, in some cases, gutter guards can actually be the cause of the ice damn in your gutters. When this happens, they fallen gutter protection actually cause a blockage, which can lead to ice dams and expensive damage to your home.

Emeterio Fossas

Reviewer

Do ice dams always cause damage?

As water backs up behind the dam, it can leak through the roof shingles (if you don't have properly installed ice and water shield membrane) and cause damage to walls, ceilings, insulation and other areas. Ice dams, in an of themselves, are not a real problem and usually cause no damage.

Mohamad Diarmaid

Reviewer

Does Home Depot sell calcium chloride?

Calcium Chloride Ice Melting Pellets-7892 - The Home Depot.

Ginevra Meihofener

Reviewer

Can you put salt on a rubber roof?

A Do not put salt on your roof! Sodium chloride, or rock salt, is highly corrosive. It will damage the roofing, siding, gutters and downspouts, and the poisonous runoff will kill foundation plants and more. (Calcium chloride and corn-based formulas are preferred, but they still may damage your home and lawn.)

Ethan Luisa

Supporter

When should I remove snow from my roof?

If your main goal is to prevent ice dams, you should clear your roof after about every 6'' of snowfall. But if your main concern is a roof collapse, then raking your roof after every 12'' or more of snowfall should be adequate.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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22nd June, 2020

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