The gutters on the home are important for multiple reasons. They offer protection for the structure regardless of the weather. For them to perform the way they are designed, it is important that the gutters are cleaned out and kept in the best shape possible.

Maybe the recent frigid temps have got you wondering whether or not your gutters are up to what Mother Nature can throw at your house. One thing you need to be concerned about is them freezing up in the winter. Frozen gutters can lead to damaging ice dams. If this is a recurring issue for you, when temps warm up, use these tips to correct the problem.

How to Avoid Frozen Gutters & Downspouts

Fix the Slope of the Gutters

Clean Those Gutters Out : Clean the gutters out entirely so you don’t have to worry about them being blocked up and water not being able to flow through them. You don’t want to worry about this water being stuck and then freezing, as this can cause ice dams to form on the roof.

Fix the Slope/Get the Correct Size: The slope of a rain handling system is crucial to how well it works. The water should flow through the gutters into the downspouts and out to a specific place on the ground. How well they do that and at what speed depends on the angle of the slope to the downspout. You want water to flow steadily, not gush. And you want it to keep flowing, not sit there where it can freeze on cold days.

The size of the gutters is also going to matter. You don’t want them to be too small or too large because they can cause problems. Water can just sit in gutters that are too large. In contrast, if your gutters are too small for the amount of rain they need to handle, they could easily overflow.

Always Remove Snow from the Roof : When snow happens to pile up on your roof, you want to make sure that you remove it as soon as possible. Don’t let the snow and ice build up; when it could cause a problem. If a large amount of snow on your roof starts to melt on a warm day, the flood of water hitting your gutters could overwhelm it, and you could end up with standing water at the end of the day as temperatures fall below freezing. That standing water could freeze overnight.

If you need help removing the snow and ice from the roof, we encourage you to call a professional specializing in rooftop snow removal. If you find that you have an ice dam forming or already formed, give us a call here. We can come out and provide the help you need to protect your roof and your home from having something like this happen. Ice dam removal and prevention as well as installation of seamless gutters are part of our exterior home services in the Twin Cities area.