Is Rock Salt Bad For Your Roof

The key is to avoid sodium chloride or rock salt.

Is rock salt bad for your roof.

Concrete is made less stable when rock salt infiltrates it and lowers it ph level. Not only does rock salt present a number of health risks to people pets and plants but it also endangers the health of your driveway and outdoor walkways. Corroded gutters and downspouts. Discolored driveway sidewalks or front stoop.

While it works and will remove snow and ice from your roof and prevent accumulation it is not recommended to use rock salt on your roof. Provided you use the right type of salt yes. Rock salt contains corrosive oxidizing agents making it best suited for removing ice on harder surfaces like concrete. Salts also reach reinforcement metals inside the concrete and increase the likelihood of corrosion.

Why you shouldn t use rock salt on your roof in their determination to melt away ice dams growing on their roof s eave and thus potentially prevent leakage and damage to their home s interior many reach for the deicer they are most familiar with rock salt as the solution. You should only use it on roofs in select circumstances like severe cold. It will damage the roofing siding gutters and downspouts and the poisonous runoff will kill foundation plants. For these reasons rock salt is not a good choice when it comes to getting rid of ice dams.

Unlike other substances salt won t impair your cognitive functions but people might conclude otherwise if they see what you ve done to your roof and property. It is a bad idea to use rock salt on your roof for a number of important reasons. It also does not work well below 20 degrees fahrenheit. Why you shouldn t use rock salt on your roof.

However rock salt is a form of sodium chloride which corrodes metal including the metal nails holding your shingles in place. Rock salt can also leave permanent stains on your roof and walls. Putting rock salt and ice melt directly on your roof will damage shingles but by filling the socks with salt and ice melt tying them off and sticking a few in your gutters it will help clear. Rock salt s ability to damage driveways and other outdoor pavements is relatively well known but there is another place where rock salt can do damage to your home on the roof top.