Ice along the eaves and a brown ring spreading on the ceiling: that’s often when people look up how to remove ice dams. The right move depends on one thing, whether water is already inside. An ice dam is a ridge of ice at the roof edge that stops melting snow from draining, and the water behind it can leak into walls, ceilings and insulation. Some fixes you’ll find online make that worse. The steps below follow the Minnesota Department of Commerce and University of Minnesota Extension: what you can do from the ground today, when to hand the job to a steam crew, and the attic work that keeps the ice from coming back.
Check whether water is coming in
Look inside first: the ceilings and walls under the iced eaves, then the attic if you can reach it safely. A stain, a drip or damp insulation means the water behind the dam has found a way in.
Water inside needs stopping quickly, so go straight to a steam service and drying the damage (both below). If the house is dry, you have time to work from the ground. Unsure? Compare a water stain on the ceiling in winter with ice along the roof edge.
Pull snow off the lower roof from the ground
Snow is one of the things an ice dam needs, so clearing the lower roof with a roof rake, or a push broom on a low edge, starves it.
University of Minnesota Extension notes that raking can damage roofing, so pull gently and don’t scrape the shingles. Stay on the ground. Extension warns that anyone working on a winter roof risks injury and damage, and Commerce suggests hiring a professional snow remover once the job needs a ladder or someone on the roof. More in roof snow removal and how to use a roof rake.
Open a drain channel only in an emergency
When water is coming in and help is hours away, Extension describes a stopgap: on a warm day, run tap water over the dam to melt a channel through it, working up from the lower edge, so trapped water can drain. It stops working within days.
You’ll also see stockings filled with ice melt laid across the dam. The Department of Commerce advises against removing ice with chemicals, chippers or heat, because they damage shingles, gutters and other parts of the roof. Skip the stockings.
How to remove ice dams when water is coming in: hire a steam service
Once an ice dam is causing water damage inside, Commerce’s advice is to hire a professional ice dam removal service that uses steamers. Compare businesses on the ice dam removal page, or go straight to the Minnesota businesses that list ice dam removal.
Before you hire:
- Check the license. Ask for the state license number, which roofing work requires, and look it up with the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) online or at 651-284-5069. Numbers starting BC, CR or RR are licenses; IR is only a registration.
- Watch for DLI’s red flags: asking for full or most of the payment up front, giving only a post office box, an unusually low price, or an offer to pay your insurance deductible.
Only a licensed contractor’s customers can use the state’s Contractor Recovery Fund.
Dry the damage before you repair it
Wet ceilings and insulation need to dry right away. Extension warns that moisture from ice dams can lead to mold and mildew, and says to hold interior repairs until ceilings and walls are dry.
Fix the cause at the same time, or the stain returns. Winter roof leak repair covers finding where the water gets in.
Fix the heat loss so the ice does not come back
Ice dams form when the upper roof stays above 32°F while the edge stays below it. Extension traces that heat mainly to the house, and in many homes air leaking into the attic is the main path. Exhaust fans, chimneys, attic ducts and recessed lights add to it.
The order matters: make the ceiling airtight first, then consider more insulation. A weatherization contractor should run a blower door test to find the leaks. Commerce recommends sealing them with caulk or spray foam and insulating the attic to at least R-50 where space allows. See attic insulation and air sealing, and the full plan in how to prevent ice dams.
The federal tax credit for this work doesn’t cover projects placed in service after December 31, 2025. Xcel Energy’s 2024 to 2026 Minnesota program still pays 40% of attic insulation up to $1,200 (for attics at R-19 or less, raised to R-49 or more) and 40% of air sealing up to $600 if Xcel heats your home, done together by a participating contractor. Income-qualified homeowners can try the state Weatherization Assistance Program.
Ice dam removal methods to avoid
- Chippers, hammers, chemicals and open heat. Commerce warns all of them damage shingles, gutters and other parts of the roof. That includes salt or ice melt in the gutters; see gutter problems.
- Heat cables. Commerce says not to install them: they shorten the roof’s life and add to energy costs. See ice dam prevention and heat cables.
- Powered or extra roof vents. Extension doesn’t recommend powered attic ventilation for ice dams in Minnesota, and Commerce says added vents often make it worse. See roof and attic ventilation.
- Climbing on the roof. Hand anything that needs a ladder to a professional.
How to remove ice dams without making it worse
Start inside. If water is coming in, call a licensed steam service and dry everything before any repair. If the house is dry, rake the lower roof from the ground and leave the ice alone. Either way, the dam is a symptom and attic heat is the cause. Seal and insulate this year, and next winter’s thaw runs off the roof instead of into the ceiling.