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Salt Socks


Joe H

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After our "first" 20+ inch snowstorm over four weeks ago I spent an hour on the phone calling stores trying to find a snow shovel. But then I was successful at the Tractor Supply in Leesburg which had a half dozen the day after the storm. They had long handled windshield scrapers, too. Several Home Depots even had rock salt and sand although there were no snow shovels. This morning with two and a half or more feet of snow on our roof and thick icicles hanging from our gutters I knew that I needed a roof rake. The snow has to come off of the roof and the icicles have to be knocked down. Forty two inches of snow within 96 hours is a bit excessive.

I picked up the yellow pages and started calling. An hour later after calling literally every hardware store listed in Northern Virginia as well as Home Depot and several others scanning their computers to see if any other store might have one elsewhere I gave up. The internet doesn't help much either. We've actually bought one from Amazon.com where they advertise that it will be delivered tomorrow. Or, we hope it will be delivered tomorrow. They and a half dozen others all note that they will make their best effort to have it delivered tomorrow. (Ours' from Seattle where I guess there is no snow.) It will be interesting to see if it shows up-or if Fed Ex can even make it through!

Then there are the roofing companies and contractors who specialize in this. Perhaps $1,000 and up for snow and ice removal (which actually almost seems reasonable given the potential damage and difficulty of doing it). For the ones that I called it was a matter of taking a number and standing in line-even if we are willing to spend this much.

With these experiences I am guessing that a roof rake is the single object/impliment/tool/supply that is in greatest demand right now.

By the way, Rio broke a fifty year heat record yesterday with 104 degrees. The same day that D. C., Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia and Atlantic City broke all time seasonal snow fall records. And Whistler where the winter Olympics start on Friday, until yesterday, had almost no snow on the ground. There are probably quite a few stores there with roof rakes on sale.

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I was thinking about that too, but I suspect that most folks from this far south have no idea what a roof rake is. But a lot of people are going to wish they had, now that ice damming has begun. For what it's worth, here's a nifty tip from This Old House: how to break an ice dam using hosiery and ice melting compound.

By the way, UPS had suspended some major routes yesterday due to the weather, but appears to be working to catch up today.

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A possible solution: a good friend suggested that I buy a long handled, telescoping aluminum swimming pool pole which has a brush attached to it. These are 16 or more feet long and are used to clean the bottom of pools. (Or, perhaps, to act as a kind of roof rake.) On my first call I found a store that has one in stock. I am on the way!

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Google Salt Sock. I made one and it works. You fill a sock with melting salt, tie it up with a long rope, and toss it on your roof just above the gutter. It creates a channel that lets water run off. You can make several socks, or change the position of the one you make. This works for ice dam issues, not so much for the overall weight on your roof. Though it might save your gutters. Oh I see someone beat me to it.

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Google Salt Sock. I made one and it works. You fill a sock with melting salt, tie it up with a long rope, and toss it on your roof just above the gutter. It creates a channel that lets water run off. You can make several socks, or change the position of the one you make. This works for ice dam issues, not so much for the overall weight on your roof. Though it might save your gutters. Oh I see someone beat me to it.

Really appreciate the help and advice. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

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