How to do Ice Dam Removal

Start by getting all excess snow off of your roof. You don't have to clean all the way down to your shingles, but clean as much show off as possible. This will make the rest of your ice dam removal much simpler and will help prevent them from occurring again.

Next, sprinkle your urea fertilizer on the ice dams. The higher the nitrogen content in the fertilizer, the better. Do NOT use rock salt as this can also kill your plants and grass. The fertilizer will help you remove the ice dams and is also beneficial to your plants and grass. Wait for the fertilizer to do it's work on the ice dam. If it does not completely fall off, repeat the process again.

Once you have clean edges, take your heat tape and apply in to your roof in a zig zag method so that it looks like triangles on your roof. At the point where the heat tape reaches the roof's edges, it should extend over the edge of the room about 2 or 3". Special note here: If you have adequate ventilation the heat tape is not necessary. If you ventilate with adequate soffit ventilation and ridge and or gable vents, there will be no ice formation or any icicle problem.

If your home has gutters, run a heat tape in the gutter and down your downspouts. Also tie the roof heat tape into the gutter heat tape, so water has a dedicated channel for water to run down.