Have you been hit by the snowstorm recently and you’ve never expected it to be so strong? That amount of snow drives you crazy and you don’t want to be covered in it from top to bottom? Or several feet of snowfall is typical for your local area and you have to deal with cleaning it on regular basis to unbury your house, driveway and cars? It’s so annoying, but you’d be Ok to deal with it if it wasn’t so hard to do that! Besides, if you don’t follow basic safety rules or if just something goes wrong (one can never tell, right?), getting rid of snow on the roof might be also quite dangerous. And, if it’s the car we’re talking about, then you’ll have to apply proper tools or, if you don’t have those at the moment, use improvised means to bring your vehicle back to the light without damaging it and scratching the glass.
Also, do yourself a favor and avoid trying the first things that may come to your mind like pouring warm water over the car’s windows or climbing onto the roof’s top without any safety net or something to protect you from falling.
So, if you’ve never had such an experience (thank God!) and it’s your first attempt to conquer the consequences of a heavy snowfall or if you’re just looking for better ways of how to remove snow more effectively and much faster, then check out the tips below and get to work. As it seems that snow is not going to go anywhere soon, unless you help it.
Remove snow from the roof
Why should you remove snow from the roof?
It might look like a scene from a fairytale, when the roof in your house is covered with a generous amount of snow, along with your garden. It’s like waking up in a winter wonderland, where your house is wearing a big white fluffy hat and the ground is snuggled up in a warm snowy blanket.
But, usually the joy and happiness lasts for several minutes. Just until you realize that you have to deal with clearing up the driveway and roof from a dozen inch snow layer and hunt the car out of it. Having to spend a good half an hour (or even more) working with a shovel simply to get out of the house and go to work or run errands is not really the pleasure everyone is imagining while wishing for the snowfall.
So, maybe it’s not necessary to spent entire morning getting rid of snow? Maybe, you can leave the roof wearing it pretty glowing head piece? I’m afraid, you can’t.
Of course, it depends on the thickness of the snow cover. But once it gets to the certain point, leaving a heavy snow mass on the roof of your house might result in quite disappointing consequences. First of all, it may eventually fall down on its own, hurt someone or damage something.
Besides, snow and ice cleaners convince that it’s not so easy for the roof to hold a large amount of snow. The thing is that if you leave it there for a longer period, ice dams might form. They’re quite heavy and put a lot of stress onto the roof, causing leaks and damage of the roof’s material. Besides, if you really think about it, the snow itself is pretty heavy. Only imagine that one inch layer of snow covering a square foot surface weighs approximately one pound.
Now, do your math and calculate how much weight your roof holds when it’s covered with 10-12 inches of snow. It is several hundreds of pounds. Isn’t it crazy? Add the ice dams and you’ll understand that if you don’t remove the excessive snow from the roof, you will have to deal with major leaks later on. Besides, it might affect the roof material badly, so you’ll have to address roof contractors to fix or completely replace it.
Have I convinced you that it’s a matter of high importance? Then, let’s move forward.
When you should do it
Professionals who remove snow from various spots recommend clearing the roofs each time the 6’’ layer of snow accumulates on its top. They say that everything above this mark is not crucial at all. In fact, such snow layers provide better insulation. But, once you hit that point, it’s better to get rid of snow on the roof to avoid the harmful effects mentioned above.
But, if your roof was built the way that it can bear higher load (if it’s residential), you may wait a little bit longer.
Also, consider the snow’s weight. The levels might be the same, but fluffy snow, which fell in frosty weather, weighs less than the damp type. Professional snow cleaners mention that 6’’ layer of dry fluffy snow equals almost 40’’ of damp (wet) one considering its heaviness. Unbelievable! Besides, the latter type sticks to the surfaces better and freezes to it once the temperature goes down, making it harder to knock it off the roof. Also, the risk of dam’s appearance is higher in this case.
So, to determine whether you should or shouldn’t pursue to the snow removal, grab your shovel to make few ‘scoops’ to determine the weight of the snow cover.
Tools to use
A regular shovel will be more than enough if you can access the roof easily without climbing on its top. However, using ladders when it’s so frosty and slippery to get to some remote spots or to remove the snow from the two (and more) storied house is really dangerous. Just as walking on the snowy roof. First of all, you may slip and fall. Also, the snow layer might suddenly move down and you’ll … fall.
So, you’ll need more advanced tool to complete the task and not expose yourself to danger. There are special snow-removing rakes and other tools, which make it possible to get a good slice of snow and bring it down. The ones with a plastic slide are even better, as they direct the snow’s fall, not allowing it to collapse on you. The longer the handle of the chosen tool is, the easier the process will be.
Remember that it’s completely unnecessary to clean everything out. Don’t spend hours trying to get rid of smallest bits and pieces. Just release the roof from the major burden and you’ll be fine.
Don’t do that!
I’m begging you, don’t try to remove snow from you roof on your own if the layer is too thick, the house is too tall and the conditions are unfavorable (if it’s too slippery, windy or if it’s still snowing). The risk of falling is too high.
Call snow removal professionals to make the task safer and easier on your behalf. First of all, they have all necessary tools to get everything done fast, along with proper safety nets and harnesses, stable ladders, designed for roof carrying out roof works, to prevent accidents. Also, you won’t have to freeze to your bones when trying to do it without any significant help.
Visit HireRush.com to look through the contractor’s profiles and hire the ones, who work within your local area and are still available. Hurry up, as you’re not the only one who’s struggling because of the storm right now.
Prevent accumulation
If you have some money to spend, you may install special warming-up roof systems that melt the snow as it falls down and prevent its accumulation. Those are basically heat cables, spread out on the roofing. However, it might cost quite a lot to get them installed, as it’s not really common thing to do and not many roof contractors will agree to perform this task.
Besides, your electricity bills will rise significantly because of regular use of those heat cables. On the other hand, if you turn them on from time to time, they might not be able to cope with the results of considerable snow storm, as they’re designed to manage the snow on roofs by melting it gradually, as it falls, but not to deal with huge loads.
Quick tips to remove snow from car after the storm
- If your car got buried under the snow, you should dig it out starting from wheels and move to the sides using preferably plastic or wooden square shovel not to damage the car. Ensure the access to the driver’s door as soon as possible.
- Grab a soft-bristle broom to sweep the snow from top of the car, including its roof and hood to provide proper view when you’ll be driving. (the fact is that snow might slip from the car’s roof and partially limit the overview).
- Take a scraper to clear out the mirrors, windshield, side and back windows. Warning: don’t pour hot water onto the glass, as it will just crack and you’ll have to replace it.
- Brass-blade scraper will come in handy to get rid of the frost coat.
- Open the hood to remove the snow from there, dry the wires with a cloth and start your car to warm it up. It will help defreeze the windows. De-icer liquids or sprays will work even better, but you might not always have them.
