Tools to Melt Snow & Ice on the Roof

Deicing Chemicals

• Chemical deicing compounds can be used to effectively reduce the thickness and weight of ice. Deicers can be applied as commercially available "roof melt" tablets, as a liquid, powder or rock-like material either freely broadcast, piled above and across any ice dam or stuffed into a nylon stocking to be laid across the ice dam. The most important consideration is to apply the deicer so that it will create drainage channels to allow ice melt to run off of the roof rather than pool behind a dam. Avoid using corrosive deicers, like sodium chloride, that may damage the roofing material.

Warm Water

• Use warm water from a hose or tap to make channels through ice or an ice dam to facilitate drainage. Either work from above, if a window opens above the roof's edge, or from below. Get the hose as close to the ice as possible and work from the bottom of the ice layer to the top to create a channel. This technique is best used on fairly warm days so that the hose nozzle will not freeze and the warm water will be most effective. This is only a temporary solution and will generally have to be repeated within a few days or used in combination with other melting methods.

Roof Rake

• A roof rake is a tool specifically designed to remove snow from a roof. The entire roof does not generally need to be cleared of snow. Instead, use the rake to clear only the bottom few feet of the roof and leave a thin layer of snow on the roof. This effort will decrease the amount of melt that could accumulate behind any ice. Additionally, removing snow in this manner will make radiation from the sun and melting methods more efficient. A push broom can be used in a similar manner to remove snow from along the roof edge.

Electric Heating Cables

• Electric heating cables, if there is a nearby source of electricity, can be used as extensively as desired to melt roof ice and snow. Cables can be bundled in loops along the roof edge or in the gutter or can be attached in larger loops to a long board hoisted halfway up or to the top of the roof. Make sure that the electric heating cable loops hang slightly over the edge of the roof to allow for drainage.