CENTRAL OHIO -- Homeowners continued to deal with roof damage from last September's wind storm, but last week's snow has started to add even more trouble.
NBC 4's Marshall McPeek reported with the BOTTOMLINE on how ice damming actually can push water into your house.
HELPFUL LINKS:
- This Old House: Preventing Ice Dams
- This Old House: Fast Fixes for Ice Dams
- National Ag Safety Database (CDC): Ice Dam Prevention on Roofs
Icicles might be pretty but might indicate a bigger issue, too.
Icicles mean snow is melting off your roof.
An ice dam forms when the heat from your house melts the snow on the roof and the water flows down to the gutter and refreezes.
The water has no where to go but back up under your shingles and into your house.
Once the water starts coming in, a homeowner's only option is to control the leak by poking holes in the ceiling -- so it can drain out in small places rather than spreading across the whole ceiling -- and wait for it all to melt.
"If you're having water dripping from your ceiling, you should poke a hole in it with a big screwdriver and get that water running out, control it, get it in a bucket, rather than spread throughout your ceiling," said Jess Biller, Paramount Roofing president.
Rather than trying to chip the ice from the gutters, prevention is the better option, McPeek said.
Insulating your attic will help keep heat in your living spaces, instead of in the attic.
And ventilation is vital to keep the attic temperature close to the outside temperatures.
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