Do THIS Easy and Free Trick to Avoid Expensive Gutter Collapse this Winter

3/1/2021 (Permalink)

The Mid-Ohio Vally has been hit by an excessive amount of snow the past two weeks and homes are falling prey to roof and gutter collapses all around the area as a result.

If you haven’t already; make sure to do this simple trick to help rid your roof and gutters of snow build up.

Why Does the Gutter Collapse?

When snow builds up in your gutters some of that snow temporarily melts, becomes water, and then solidifies to ice. This allows more water (ice) to fill up your gutters and create a much heavier unit that sits in your gutters.

Your Gutters are not Build to Hold That

Gutters are only built to temporarily hold water before it streams down the pipes. So when it has weight for extended periods of time, it weighs down the gutters and joinery, pulling them off.

They Pull the Walls and Roof Too

It’s rarely a clean rip. The gutters don’t just come off, they bring the walls, tiles and supports with them; potentially creating holes in the roof, or walls, letting snow and water into your home. This becomes much more expensive in the remediation process because now you have to restore outside, inside and the supports. Not to mention water damage and possible mold growth too.

DO THIS: Throw Your Pantyhose on the Roof

This cheap and simple trick is well known, but perhaps not completely understood. But knowing why you’re doing it, will help you know where is the best place to throw them.

Step 1: Fill some old pantyhose (or even buy new, they’re quite affordable) with salt or calcium chloride then tie up the end tightly so that it’s like a ball of salt in the foot of the pantyhose.

Step 2: Fling the pantyhose onto the roof at different heights. The higher the better (we’ll explain why in the next section).

Step 3: If possible, keep an eye on the pantyhose because you may need to throw some more up later to replenish.

Why does this work?

First we must know the freezing points for both water and salt water. Water has a freezing point of 32ºF where as salt water freezes at 28.4ºF. This difference is all the reason! … huh?

Ok, so when the snow melts slightly, the salt in the pantyhose mixes with the water, creating salt(ish) water. Now, it requires a lower temperature to freeze. This difference means that the snow will take longer to freeze, allowing it time to escape down your drains and not stay in the gutters.

Wrapping it up:

So there you have it, fling up those salty pantyhose so the water and snow takes a little longer to freeze, and you will minimise the chance of ice freezing in your gutters.

We hope this helped. If you have any further questions or would like some tips, please do not hesitate to call us on 304-428-7378 or email us on this page —> click here.

From the team at SERVPRO of Wood, Ritchie & Pleasants Counties