Water will freeze faster when it is not flowing, and that’s because the motion that jumbled the molecules in the water has ceased. That’s why rivers freeze in quiet backwaters first, while the main flow in the middle keeps moving longer. We can apply this homespun logic to our eavestrough systems in Calgary too.
Frozen Gutters Are a Self-fulfilling Prophecy
As gutters begin to freeze, the water flow slows. Those molecules jumble less, releasing less energy. This is a particular problem that home-owners face, in areas that receive large quantities of winter rain, sleet and snow. The latter, particularly adds to the problem by clogging the troughs.
Thus we can define ‘frozen gutters’ more completely as those blocked solid with frozen snow or ice. This situation can damage the installation:
- By causing contraction in the length, straining joints.
- By adding to the weight the support brackets support.
- In an extreme case the installation may start breaking up.
How to Prevent Gutters Freezing Over
An accumulation of leaves and twigs can slow the water flow, and make it more likely to freeze over. This process can lead to the gutters freezing solid. And once this happens we can be stuck with the problem through to spring.
We won’t go into the details of what to do when you have frozen gutters, because that would stray us away from our topic. So we’ll end by discussing the important role of down pipes in the winter scenario.
How Down Pipes Help Prevent the Winter Freeze
The moral of the story is that the water in the gutters should keep flowing – and perhaps survive a cold snap – if we clear the autumn leaves away and prevent ice dams forming. However, as we often say, what happens to the water next?
The down pipes should receive the water from the gutters and carry it successfully away. However, they too will freeze solid if there’s a stoppage halting those molecules in their tracks. People often call us about this, but by then it may be too late.
It’s important – very important in fact – to keep the lower ends of the pipes clear of snow at ground level. For if we do not, then the snow impedes the water flow, and you can guess what happens next.
Information provided by Valiant Exteriors as a service to local Calgary residents.
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