Damn hoes!

Make that dam hose. As in ice dams & panty hose. What does one have to do with the other? Well first things first.

In the past I'd never given icicles much thought. If anything I guess I figured they were Mother Nature's attempt at accessorizing the otherwise barren landscape during the bleak winter season. Over the last couple months, a number of icicles appeared on the outside of my house. I thought they looked pretty and even took some pictures of them!

What I didn't know is that icicles on a house can be a sign of trouble. More often than not, they mean that there are ice dams on the roof and in the rain gutters. Apparently, ice dams are bad. I say this because a cursory inspection performed Sunday, revealed that ice dams were pretty much responsible for the water that overwhelmed the foundation and started leaking into my basement last weekend.

That said, admiring the "pretty" icicles hanging on the side of your house is somewhat akin to praising the hues of a forest fire as it envelopes your car. It seems nature's prettiest pictures have the potential to cause the most damage.

For a number of safety and logistical reasons, the ice making up an ice damn can't be chipped away. So once they've formed, how do you melt the ice dams on your roof? This Old House online suggests the following:

"Fill the leg of discarded pair of panty hose with a calcium chloride ice melter. Lay the hose onto the roof so it crosses the ice dam and overhangs the gutter. If necessary, use a long-handled garden rake or hoe to push it into position.

The calcium chloride will eventually melt through the snow and ice and create a channel for water to flow down into the gutters or off the roof."

I don't have a better idea, so I guess I'll give it a try. Now if I could only figure out what to do with the loaf of french bread shown in the illustration.