Some links on our site may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Published October 23, 2026. Prices and specs checked October 18, 2026.
Insulation plus air sealing is the only one of the three that can prevent ice dams, because it keeps attic heat off the roof deck. The True Temper 17-foot telescoping roof rake and the EasyHeat ADKS-600 120-foot heat cable only deal with snow and ice after the heat has done its work. On a 1,000-square-foot attic floor, Owens Corning R-38 batts plus Great Stuff foam cost $1,760.16. The rake costs $54.99, and the cable runs $184.94 to $294.79 once five winters of electricity are counted at my assumed 100 to 300 hours a winter. Buy the rake first, then fix the attic.
I spent my summers on a Midwest farm, where a ladder against the eave and a bucket for the gutters were ordinary chores. I also put in apartment years in Chicago, where icicles along the rooflines come with the season. Snow on a roof edge is a chore you handle every winter or pay for in spring. The attic is also where I did the summer-cooling math in my whole house fan, attic fan and window fan comparison. Here the same space shows up from the other season.
- Cheapest first step: True Temper 24 in. x 17 ft telescoping roof rake, $54.99 at Ace Hardware ($77.03 at Home Depot)
- Stopgap for one trouble eave: EasyHeat ADKS-600 120 ft roof and gutter de-icing cable, $129.99 at Ace Hardware, 600 watts
- The real fix: Owens Corning R-38 unfaced fiberglass batts, $107.21 per 64-square-foot bag at Home Depot, plus Great Stuff Gaps and Cracks foam at $4.48 a can
What Does It Cost to Prevent Ice Dams Three Different Ways?
| Approach | What it does | Cause or symptom | Price I read | Where I read it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Temper 24 in. x 17 ft telescoping roof rake | Pulls snow off the lowest part of the roof from the ground | Symptom: removes the snow that would melt | $54.99 at Ace Hardware, $77.03 at Home Depot | Ace Hardware and Home Depot product pages |
| EasyHeat ADKS-600 120 ft de-icing cable | Melts a drainage channel through snow and ice along the eave | Symptom: leaves the heat leak in place | $129.99 plus electricity | Ace Hardware and Lowe’s product pages |
| Owens Corning R-38 batts plus Great Stuff foam | Seals attic air leaks and slows heat flow into the attic | Cause: removes the heat that melts the snow | $107.21 per 64 sq ft bag, $4.48 per foam can | Home Depot product pages |
Every price above came from a retailer page I read on October 18, 2026. The last column of that table matters more than the price column. Heat rises from the living space into the attic, so what happens next decides which fix works.
How Do Ice Dams Form on a Roof?
Ice dams start inside the house. Heat leaks into the attic, warms the roof deck, and melts the snow lying on it. The meltwater runs down the slope until it reaches the overhang. The overhang sits outside the warm wall line and stays cold, so the water refreezes there. University of Missouri Extension engineer Bob Schultheis describes the same path. Warm air leaks into the unheated attic, melt moves down the slope, and it refreezes at the cold overhang.
Then the ridge of ice holds back the next round of melt. North Dakota State University Extension says backed-up water can leak under the shingles into the attic or eaves. That means water stains on the ceiling, structural damage and mold. Its engineer Ken Hellevang lists the usual leak points. They are unsealed openings where plumbing, heating or electrical parts enter the attic, recessed can lights, and attic access doors or ladders.
University of Minnesota Extension’s current ice dam page, reviewed in 2022, puts it in one line: “Nonuniform roof surface temperatures lead to ice dams.” It names air leakage from the house into the attic as the major source of that heat in many homes. That is why the three fixes here do different jobs. Insulation and air sealing remove the heat. The rake removes the snow. The cable melts a path through ice that is already there.
Does a Roof Rake Prevent Ice Dams?
A roof rake starves an ice dam rather than preventing one. NDSU Extension says removing snow from the lower roof “should reduce the icicles and ice dams near the gutter because the source of the water has been removed.” However, the snow comes back with the next storm, and so does the job. University of Minnesota Extension also warns that a roof rake or push broom “may damage the roofing materials.”
The rake earns its place on safety. Hellevang advises staying off the roof and using a rake instead, and he warns about overhead power lines. University of Missouri Extension also cautions against damaging the roofing and calls roof work best left to professionals.
The True Temper rake has a 24-inch poly blade on an aluminum telescoping handle that reaches 17 feet. Its Home Depot page lists the weight at 4.88 pounds. Home Depot sells it as the “True Temper 86 in. Aluminum Handle 17 ft. Telescoping Roof Rake” for $77.03. That listing shows 4.5 stars from 993 reviews and a 30-day limited manufacturer warranty. Ace Hardware lists the same manufacturer number, 193055510, at $54.99. That $22.04 difference is the cheapest saving in this post. Ace also sells Garant’s 24-inch, 16.5-foot telescoping poly rake for $59.99.
Skip the rake if the eave you worry about sits over a porch, a bay or a second story. A rake only helps where its reach lets you stand safely on the ground.
Does a Heat Cable Prevent Ice Dams or Just Cut Channels?
A heat cable cuts channels so water can drain, and it leaves the heat leak alone. Hellevang says homeowners “all too often” treat the symptoms of ice dams with things like heat tape “instead of preventing the problem in the first place.” An older University of Minnesota Extension fact sheet, from 1979, goes further. It says the melting effect of such cables “is limited to only a few inches from the cable,” and that sawtooth melting often causes secondary dams higher up the roof. The university’s current ice dam page does not list cables among its fixes at all.
The EasyHeat ADKS-600 kit is 120 feet long. The Lowe’s listing calls it “capable of delivering up to 5 watts per foot,” so 120 feet x 5 watts = 600 watts. It plugs into a standard 120-volt grounded outlet protected by a GFCI. The kit comes with shingle clips and cable spacers and carries a two-year manufacturer’s warranty. The listing also recommends a temperature and moisture control such as EasyHeat’s RS2 Roof Sentry, which is an extra purchase. Ace Hardware sells the 120-foot kit for $129.99.
The running cost is simple arithmetic. The Energy Information Administration lists the July 2026 average residential price at 18.31 cents per kilowatt-hour. A 0.6-kilowatt cable at that rate costs 0.6 x 18.31 = 10.99 cents an hour, or about 11 cents. My space heater running-cost comparison uses the same method for a 1,500-watt heater. Skip the cable if the attic is the real problem. It fights the leak every winter and never closes it.
Does Attic Insulation Prevent Ice Dams for Good?
Insulation with air sealing is the one approach here that works on the cause. The Department of Energy’s page on blown insulation in existing attics says, “A properly sealed and insulated attic can help prevent ice dams.” It adds that the insulation goes in after air sealing the ceiling deck. University of Minnesota Extension sets the order: “First, make the ceiling air tight so no warm, moist air can flow from the house into the attic space.” Only then does it suggest adding ceiling or roof insulation to cut conduction losses.
| Source | What it recommends | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| ENERGY STAR | R60 for an uninsulated attic; R49 if you already have 3 to 4 inches | Climate zones 4C, 5 and 6 |
| NDSU Extension | About 15 inches of blown insulation, or R-50 | Attics in northern climates |
| University of Missouri Extension | R-38 to R-49 | Ceiling and roof insulation to control heat loss |
| Department of Energy guide | R-49, the 2012 IECC minimum for new-home ceilings | Climate zones 4 through 8 |
The Owens Corning R-38 unfaced batt in the 24 in. x 48 in. bag covers 64 square feet and costs $107.21 on Home Depot’s page, which prints it as $1.68 a square foot. Batts are the easiest thing to price and carry up a ladder. For R-49 and above you would layer them or move to blown cellulose.
How Does Blown Cellulose Compare With Batts?
Blown cellulose is the other common route. Home Depot rents a GreenFiber blower with the first day free when you buy 10 bags of loose-fill cellulose. The rental page says the machine takes GreenFiber cellulose only. GreenFiber’s coverage chart lists a minimum installed thickness of about 15 inches for R-49, which matches the NDSU figure. Home Depot also lists a 40-bag pallet of cellulose for $1,469.00. That page does not state coverage per bag, and its own Q&A answers disagree, so I did not build a cost from it.
Should You Seal Attic Air Leaks Before Adding Insulation?
Yes, seal first. The 2012 Department of Energy Building America guide Energy Renovations: Insulation puts it plainly: “Before you add insulation, air sealing your home to reduce air leakage is essential.” It also lists “a history of ice dams in the winter, which can indicate serious air leaks” among the conditions to correct before adding insulation.
For small gaps around pipes, wires and framing, Great Stuff Gaps and Cracks foam costs $4.48 for a 12-ounce can at Home Depot. Its page says it fills gaps up to 1 inch and lists attics among its uses. The page does not say whether it is fire-rated. Read the can before using it near a chimney or flue. Recessed can lights and attic access doors, both named by NDSU as leak points, need their own fixes.
Ventilation comes next. University of Missouri Extension recommends at least 2 square feet of attic vent for each 150 square feet of attic area. It also recommends 1 1/2 inches of clearance between the roof sheathing and the insulation. NDSU adds that baffles hold insulation back from the soffit vents so air keeps moving.
How Much Does Each Way to Prevent Ice Dams Cost Over Five Winters?
Here is the original math. I assumed a 1,000-square-foot attic floor, 10 cans of foam, and cable schedules of 100 and 300 hours per winter. These assumptions are mine, so scale them to your house. Electricity uses the EIA rate of 18.31 cents per kilowatt-hour.
| Approach | Up-front cost | Electricity over 5 winters | Five-winter total | Per winter | Removes the heat leak? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Temper rake, Ace Hardware | $54.99 | $0.00 | $54.99 | $11.00 | No |
| EasyHeat cable, 100 hours a winter | $129.99 | $54.95 | $184.94 | $36.99 | No |
| EasyHeat cable, 300 hours a winter | $129.99 | $164.80 | $294.79 | $58.96 | No |
| Owens Corning R-38 batts plus Great Stuff foam | $1,760.16 | $0.00 | $1,760.16 | $352.03 | Yes |
The arithmetic, line by line. The cable at 100 hours uses 0.6 kilowatts x 100 hours = 60 kilowatt-hours. That costs 60 x $0.1831 = $10.99 a winter and $54.95 over five. At 300 hours it uses 180 kilowatt-hours, so $32.96 a winter and $164.80 over five. For the attic, 1,000 square feet / 64 square feet per bag = 15.6, which rounds up to 16 bags. Then 16 x $107.21 = $1,715.36. Ten foam cans x $4.48 = $44.80. Together that is $1,760.16, or $352.03 a winter across five winters.
Over five winters the attic job costs about 32 times the rake. It costs about six times the cable at the heavier schedule. That gap is the honest price of treating the cause. Five winters is my yardstick, not a lifespan, because none of these pages gives one. The prices are materials only, with no labor for hiring someone to do the work.
Have Any of These Products Been Recalled?
On October 18 I searched the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database. The terms were roof rakes, heating and de-icing cable, EasyHeat, True Temper, Garant, Owens Corning, GreenFiber, Great Stuff, insulation and insulating foam. Nothing matched these products. The only True Temper entries are wheelbarrow recalls from 2002 and 2004.
What Else Do People Ask About Ice Dams?
Can a roof rake alone prevent ice dams?
No. A roof rake removes snow from the lowest part of the roof, so less water is available to refreeze. It does nothing about attic heat, so you repeat the job after each storm. University of Minnesota Extension also notes that raking can damage the roofing.
How much electricity does a roof heat cable use?
The EasyHeat ADKS-600 is rated up to 5 watts per foot over 120 feet, which is 600 watts. At the EIA’s July 2026 residential average of 18.31 cents per kilowatt-hour, that is about 11 cents an hour. Every 100 hours it runs costs roughly $11.
Do I need to air seal before I add attic insulation?
Yes. The Department of Energy guide says air leaks should be identified and sealed before any insulation goes in. Most insulation does not stop airflow, so sealing gaps around pipes, wires, recessed lights and the attic hatch comes first.
How much attic insulation does a cold climate need?
ENERGY STAR lists R60 for an uninsulated attic in zones 4C, 5 and 6. If you already have 3 to 4 inches, it lists R49. NDSU Extension says attics in northern climates need roughly 15 inches of blown insulation, or R-50.
What Would I Do First to Prevent Ice Dams at My Own House?
I would buy the True Temper 17-foot telescoping roof rake first. At $54.99 at Ace Hardware, it is the only one of the three that helps on the first heavy snowfall. Then I would seal and insulate the attic with Great Stuff foam and Owens Corning R-38 batts. That is the only fix that removes the heat that makes the dam.
I would leave the EasyHeat cable on the shelf unless one eave keeps backing up after the attic work. If ice dams return in the same spot after sealing and insulating, check the attic ventilation against the numbers above. More winter heating math lives in the Heating & Cooling category.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
