Clear your downspouts and rain chains one of the best ways to protect your gutters from ice and snow damage is to clear your gutter troughs downspouts and rain chains before winter weather hits.
Rain gutters damaged by ice.
Clogged gutters can create the perfect opportunity for ice damming.
If ice clogs your gutters it could overfill them causing too much weight for the gutter to hold.
What to do about ice gutters.
It is a specially shaped sheet metal cover for the rain gutters that draws the water around and into the gutter but throws leaves snow and even ice off the edge over the gutter.
This could cause damage such as creating holes in your gutters which causes leaks.
The stacked up ice and snow causes the run off to flow over the lip of your gutters and create long icicles.
One side effect of installing gutter guards on your horizontal runs is they can help to generate ice sickles and dams as water freezes during the winter.
Another equally troubling problem are ice dams.
Read on to learn how to prevent gutters from freezing and what to do if you have ice on your gutters.
Frozen gutters can pull away from roofs lead to leaks inside the home or even form ice dams.
When these items are cleared of debris water is able to flow through them or over them as it should without any blockages that can slow water.
When your gutters are being clogged by debris it can cause water to pool within the gutter.
Then the water freezes once temperatures get cold enough.
Ice buildup in your gutters prevents the flow of melted snow to your down spouts for proper drainage.
Leaf guard uses the same concept but is built right into the rain gutter.
One way that harsh winter weather can damage gutters is ice buildup.
Securely lean a ladder against your house so that you can reach the gutters then gently tap the front of the gutters with a rubber mallet until the ice breaks apart.
When icy winter storms hit ice in gutters and downspouts can buildup into rock solid masses.
However you can take a pre emptive strike against gutter damage from snow and ice by clearing and cleaning the gutter system before winter begins.
Make sure your cleaning professionals pay special attention to the gutters downspouts elbows roof valleys eaves and fascias.
Be careful about how hard you re pounding the ice you don t want to tear your gutter off the house.
One very interesting product for snow country is called gutter helmet.