Hanging from trees and out buildings, icicles are one of the traditional images of winter. In most cases homeowners are happy to just wait out the cold weather and allow the icicles to melt away when the sun comes out. Sometimes though icicles have to be removed, and it is necessary to know how to remove icicles from the house safely. It is important to remember that every year people die after being hit by falling icicles.

When it comes to removing icicles safely it is a case of common sense. There are three main methods used by most people to remove icicles; there is the sawing approach, the hacking approach and the burning approach. Sawing is generally the safest approach, and simply means acting as if the icicle was a piece of wood, taking the saw to cut the icicle down from where it hangs.

Hacking is also a popular method for removing icicles, and people are willing to take up a hammer, ice pick or similar tool, in order to chip away at the icicle. Some care is required though as it is all too easy to miss the icicle and hit the building or window behind it.

Burning is perhaps the least safe of all the methods, although it just accelerates the affect of the sun. Lighters and even blow torches are favored implements, but again care has to be taken with the building behind the icicle.

If the icicles are hanging down above head height there are some other considerations when it comes to removing icicles safely. When icicles are hanging at height the job of their removal becomes ideally a two person job. It is likely that to enable their removal either a ladder or a spot of roof climbing is going to be required. The use of ladders in icy conditions is far from ideal, and should mean that there is someone else holding on to the ladder to ensure that it doesn't slip. Clambering over roofs is even more dangerous, and it is far too easy to slip and slide off of the roof, when it is covered in ice.

It is though not just the homeowner who is in potential danger when it comes to removing icicles. As already mentioned people die every winter because of falling icicles, and the fact that they are being removed could mean that the natural falling has been replaced with a man made one. It is essential that for the safe removal of icicles that the area under the icicles is cordoned off. This should prevent passers by accidentally wandering under falling icicles.

As with most things in life the safe removal of icicles is something that can be easily done with the application of a bit of common sense. All that is required is some forethought about the safety of the person removing the icicles, and anyone else who might be in the near vicinity.

Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about How to remove icicles from your house safely?
We want to hear your view. Write now!