Winter weather can wreak havoc on many parts of your home. Gutters are one area that can be ravaged by ice. When a gutter freezes, it can crack or even get too heavy to the point where it simply falls off the house. Stopping gutters from freezing is important, which is why using heating tape gutters just might be the answer to your dilemma.
Heating Tape Gutters
Heat tape, known to many as electric trace heating, are long strips that can be placed along your gutters and other areas of a home that are prone to freezing. The strips heat up and help the gutters maintain a higher temperature in order to avoid freezing.
It is not a huge mystery how to heat tape gutters; most heat taping systems come with a complete set of instructions. For those of you who have not purchased a kit and want to know how labor intensive the process is, here is a brief overview:
1. First, scout out an area where you can plug the system in. This might involve using an extension cord to reach the nearest outlet. The unit that the heat tape runs from is generally mounted underneath the overhang of the roof, near the gutter.
2. Run the heat tape throughout the gutters. This is a no-brainer. With the heat tape running along the length of the gutters, it will avoid icy build-ups.
3. The heat tape is not just reserved for inside the gutters, though. It is also important to zigzag the tape along the eaves and on the roof just above the gutters. This keeps ice from coming close to the gutters and allows water to flow down into the gutters.
4. Do not forget the downspouts. Make sure to run the heat tape through the downspouts in order to keep them clear.
Heat tape is one of the few solutions that truly remedies frozen gutters. The investment on such a system often depends on the amount that you use.
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