What to do about ice dams
The important thing first: ice dams are not a gutter problem. Almost everything sold as a gutter fix for them treats the symptom, and the ones involving a hammer cause real damage.
- Doing it yourself
- $30–$400
- Typical contractor price
- $300–$1,500
This job puts you on a ladder
- Set the base one foot out for every four feet of height. Steeper than that and it slides out from under you; shallower and it tips backwards.
- Extend the ladder at least three rungs above the gutter and tie it off, or have someone foot it. Never rest a ladder on the gutter itself — aluminium will fold.
- Keep your hips between the rails. Reaching sideways past the rails is what puts people on the ground; move the ladder instead, however tedious that gets.
- Stay off it in wind, rain, or on wet grass. A ladder on soft ground sinks unevenly as you climb.
- Standing on the top two rungs is how most ladder falls happen. If you cannot reach from the third rung down, the ladder is too short.
Tools
- •Roof rake with a long handle
- •Calcium chloride (never rock salt)
- •Old nylon stockings or a sock
Materials
- •Calcium chloride ice melt
- •Attic insulation, if that is the real answer
Step by step
Understand the cause before spending anything
Heat escaping into the attic melts snow on the warm upper roof. The water runs down to the cold overhang, refreezes, and builds a dam that backs water up under the shingles. The gutter is where you notice it, not where it starts.
Rake the snow off the lower roof from the ground
A roof rake pulling the bottom three or four feet of snow off after each significant snowfall removes the raw material. This is the only routine measure that is both safe and effective.
Watch out: Work from the ground. People fall doing this from a ladder in winter every year, and mind overhead power lines with an aluminium handle.
Melt a channel, do not break the ice
Fill a nylon stocking with calcium chloride and lay it across the dam so it hangs over the edge. It melts a drainage channel through in a day or so.
Watch out: Never chip ice off with a hammer, axe or chisel. You will put holes in the gutter and the shingles, and the leak that follows costs more than the dam would have.
Use calcium chloride, not rock salt
Sodium chloride corrodes aluminium gutters and steel fasteners, and it kills whatever it runs off onto. Calcium chloride works colder and is far less aggressive.
Fix the actual cause in the summer
Air-seal the attic penetrations, top up the insulation, and check the soffit vents are not stuffed with insulation. A cold attic does not make ice dams, and it is a permanent fix rather than an annual battle.
Stop and call someone if
- Water is already coming inside — that needs dealing with now, by someone with steam equipment.
- The dam is thick, or there are icicles heavy enough to pull the gutter. Steam removal is the only safe method and it is not a DIY tool.
- You get dams every single year: the answer is in the attic, and an energy audit will find it.
Or read more about gutter repair.
Common questions
- Will heated cables fix it?
- They keep a drainage channel open, which stops water backing up under the shingles. They do not stop the dam forming, they run up a noticeable power bill, and they are a workaround for an attic problem.
- Should I take my gutters off for winter?
- No. Gutters do not cause ice dams; the dam forms on the roof edge whether a gutter is there or not. Removing them just means meltwater runs down the wall.
Last reviewed September 19, 2026. General guidance only — your house, your roof and your local building code are what actually govern the work.