MILWAUKEE — The icicles you see hanging from the roof of your home may be pretty, but they're a sign of an even bigger problem. Ice dams. And if you don't take care of the problem now, you could be paying for it later.
"The bigger the icicle, the greater your chances are that you have a bigger ice dam that's going to cause a problem on your roof," said Joe Palumbo, President of Ice Dam Removal Guys.
Between the below-freezing temperatures and the snow Wisconsin has been hit with over the past couple of weeks, knowing that warmer weather is on the way is giving us something to look forward to. But if you aren't taking care of that leftover snow on your roofs, you could be dealing with a much bigger problem.
John Cieslinksi is no stranger to the harsh weather conditions the wintertime in Wisconsin can bring. And after dealing with a stretch of bitter cold temperatures and snow in Milwaukee, he's doing everything he can to prevent any ice dams from forming on his roof now that the weather is expected to warm up.
"With the warmer weather coming up, it's going to melt really fast," said Cieslinksi.
Experts say warmer weather and the heat from your homes can cause the snow on the top of your roof to melt. But when it gets colder, that water can refreeze. And the bigger your ice dam gets, the more damage it can cause.
"If there's an ice dam on the edge of your roof all of that water from that snowmelt, is going to come into your home. A lot of people are going to get a lot of floods in their house because of this warmup coming," said Jerry Johnson, owner of MKE Property Detailing & Pressure Washing.
So how can you prevent ice dams from forming?
"There's really only one thing you can do as a homeowner once you have an ice dam, and that is to get the snow off the roof. The more snow you can get off your roof the better. Without snow, there's no snowmelt and there are no ice dams," said Palumbo.
Experts also stress that you should not go on top of your roof to try and get the snow off. They say using a snow rake is your best bet. And if you're unable to do the snow removal yourself - you're encouraged to call your local service provider.
To learn more about ice dams click here. And for FAQ's, click here.
