Instead use a hair dryer or consumer grade heat gun to heat up the outside of the downspout near the ice blockage.
Frozen gutter solutions.
Heating panels cost about 500 to 750.
You can try laying the cable on the gutter to melt the ice and pray for warmer days and then keep moving the cable down into the gutter as the ice melt.
How to fix frozen gutter problem.
If your home s gutters aren t completely frozen into what resembles a solid block of ice then there are some measures you can take which could bring you some relief.
If none of these trick help please call a professional.
Just heating up the downspout will do the trick at least for melting the ice it will do nothing if there is a large blockage due to debris this is why cleaning your gutters at least twice a year is very important.
Yet another recommends running electrical heat tape to prevent melting.
For best results start near the bottom of the downspout and work upward.
Others recommend taking ice melt to the gutters see below a few say heat the gutters to clear them.
Some say just leave it alone.
You can also have a heating panel system installed.
An ice dam is a wall of ice that forms at the edge of the roof usually at the gutters or soffit.
For us with our cheap easy to bend gutters this worked rather quick and easy.
When it forms the water then backs up behind the ice dam and creates a pool of water.
In such a system wires or heating elements run the length of the gutter and downspout warming the metal and preventing ice buildup.
The simplest one is to take a few handfuls of calcium chloride not rock salt.
This can corrode the gutter and cause harm to vegetation when the ice melts and sprinkle it inside the gutters.
A more involved solution is to install a heating panel.
Alu rex winter shield technology.
On line advice about frozen downspouts varies.
This pool of water can leak into your home and cause damage to walls ceilings insulation and other areas.
One recommends whacking the gutter from an upstairs window with a baseball bat.
Experts recommend having them cleaned out every six months.
Striking frozen downspouts with a hammer or baseball bat in the hopes of breaking up the ice inside them may cause more damage and make the situation worse.
Alu rex has developed an advanced winter shield technology that protects your gutters from ice and snow allowing them to perform effectively all year round.