Winter can be a beautiful time of year, but one of the prettiest parts of the winter landscape can be the most detrimental for your gutters: icicles. Ice that forms in (and on) your gutters can do a lot of damage. The weight and pressure from ice can warp, misalign, and even break your gutters. Ice dams in your gutters can hold the water from melting snow on your roof where it might leak through, causing a lot of damage to your house. Ice in your gutters can also cause them to overflow when things start melting, and all of that water could pool around your foundation (and leak into your basement) instead of running out your downspouts. But how can you keep your gutters from freezing up this winter?

Slope Them

Gutters that aren’t properly sloped won’t drain water effectively. They should slope downwards towards your downspouts because that’s where you want the water to go. Gutters that sit too flat will have water that sits in them instead of running out, and this increases the likelihood of ice. If possible, adjust the slope of your gutters before the cold weather, ice, and snow arrive.

Clean Them

Gutters need to be cleaned fairly often, but they especially need to be cleaned in the late fall or early winter, after all of the leaves have fallen. If you haven’t cleaned your gutters this season (or year), you should do it before the next snow. Soggy leaves and debris can clog the gutters and downspouts, leading to sitting water. And in below zero temperatures, any sitting water is going to freeze and cause problems.

Salt Them

That rock salt that you keep handy for your walkways and driveway might also come in handy for your gutters if you already have some ice build up. Simply sprinkle it on like you would anywhere else and let it do its work.

Clear Snow From Them ASAP

When we do get snow, it will help your gutters tremendously if you clear the snow from your roof as quickly as possible. A roof rake is a handy tool that can help you clear the snow from the roof before it clogs the gutters with all the freezing and thawing it’s going to do.

Heat Them

When all else fails, it might be time to invest in heated gutter cables. The cable will heat the gutters and keep them from freezing. You string the cable along the top of the gutter, and the gentle heat melts the ice and then keeps it clear.

Phil DiBello Family Roofing Is A Leading Roofer of Howard County!

Since 1979, Phil DiBello Family Roofing has been proudly installing roofs, siding, gutters for homeowners in Howard County as well as Baltimore and Carroll County. Call us today at 410-752-ROOF (7663) or email us at info@dibelloroofing.com for your free estimate and let us know how our family and make your family’s home needs our top priority! Remember to follow us Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+ to stay up to date on everything DiBello Roofing.

To stop down and visit us in person for your free written estimate, we are centrally located at:

1440 East Clement Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230