Ice dam removal, before the water gets in.
The ice along your gutters is holding back water that can back up under the shingles. Call, or text us a photo of the roof edge.
If ice dams are forming, call early. Estimates are free.
- Heat from the house warms the attic and the roof above it.
- Snow on the warm part of the roof melts and runs down.
- The eave hangs out past the wall and stays cold, so the water freezes there.
- Water pools behind the ice, backs up under the shingles, and can show up on a ceiling.
Send us a photo of the roof edge.
Tell us your town and what you are seeing, and you get a straight answer back. Every job is quoted after we see it, and the estimate is free.
- Stay on the ground.Take the photo from the driveway or the yard. No ladder, no roof.
- Get the ice and the gutter line in the shot.If water is showing inside, a photo of that spot helps too.
- Text it to (224) 413-2655.Add your town and what you are seeing.
The icicles are the part you can see.
An ice dam is a ridge of ice that builds along the bottom edge of a roof. The icicles hanging off the gutters are only the overflow. The part that matters sits on the roof behind them, holding back meltwater that can work its way up under the shingles.
It starts with heat. Warmth from the house gets into the attic, and the snow on the roof melts from underneath. The water runs down to the eave, the part of the roof that hangs out past the wall. Nothing warms the eave, so the water freezes there, and the ridge keeps growing.
Signs you have one
- A thick band of ice along the gutters or the bottom edge of the roof
- Icicles that keep getting bigger along the same stretch of gutter
- Water spots, drips, or peeling paint on a ceiling near an outside wall
- Gutters and downspouts frozen solid
One thing to be straight about: we are exterior cleaners. We take the ice off the roof. We do not repair, replace, or install roofs.
Chipping at an ice dam breaks the roof first.
In the cold, shingles turn brittle, and an ice dam is frozen right onto them. Anything that hits the ice hard enough to crack it can crack the roof underneath.
What it costs the roof
- Hammers, hatchets, and ice picks, which crack shingles and dent gutters
- Rock salt tossed on the roof, which washes down into the beds below
- Climbing a ladder onto an icy roof, which is not worth the risk
Ask us how we would handle yours.
Every roof and every ice dam sits a little differently. Call, or text us a photo of the roof edge, and ask how we would take yours off.
If ice dams are forming, call early.
Around here the season runs roughly January through March, and February and March are the prime months. The sooner a dam comes off, the less time water has to sit behind it.
Based in Rolling Meadows, working the northwest suburbs.
One call gets a straight answer on whether your block is in range.
- Rolling Meadows Home base
- Arlington Heights
- Palatine
- Schaumburg
- Barrington
- Highland Park
- Chicago
- + 45 more Chicagoland communities
The same family crew behind ChicagoLand SoftWash.
ChicagoLand Ice Dam Removal is the winter work of ChicagoLand SoftWash, family owned since 2017. Tom and his son do the work themselves.
The rest of the year they soft wash algae, mold and mildew off houses and roofs.
See chicagolandsoftwash.comThey did a beautiful job on our house and front steps. Very friendly and thorough! Definitely recommend them.
We use this company and they seriously are phenomenal at what they do. Tom and his son have been in the business for a long time.
These reviews are for ChicagoLand SoftWash and its washing work, not for ice dam removal.
Ice building up along the roof edge?
Call, or text us a photo. Every job is quoted after we see it, and the estimate is free.