Don't try to knock down icicles from homes, roofing official says

YOUNGSTOWN — Those thick, long and annoying icicles hanging on your home should be left alone in most cases unless you want to risk damage to yourself and your house, local gutter and roofing company officials say.

The icicles form a natural drainage system for the snow and ice that builds up on roofs and gutters, said Sam Boak, president of Boak & Sons in Austintown.

“Unless the icicles are all the way to the ground or real long ones or your downspout has a huge piece of ice on the corner of your house, don’t do anything,” he said. “It’s a dripping and support system that helps keep the gutters in place. If you start knocking them down, and your gutter falls down, you’ve got bigger problems. Leave the gutters alone.”

Boak said his company has handled a lot of calls from customers who’ve tried to knock down icicles hanging from their houses and ended up damaging their gutters.

Because of the low temperatures, Boak said the only thing that can be done with damaged gutters is to pull them away from the house and wait till it gets warmer to replace them.

For the complete story, see Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com