Again for the most part you don t want to throw any type of ice melt product on your roof.
Rock salt on metal roof.
Rock salt is not effective on surfaces below 0 fahrenheit.
Unless you rinse gutters and apply a new protective coating after each freeze thaw cycle salting will ultimately damage your gutters.
An excessive build up of some types of ice melt may become toxic to the environment though newer safer brands are now on the market.
Rock salt can also leave permanent stains on your roof and walls.
The tablets help prevent roof damage by melting through ice dams and allowing water to drain safely.
While safely on the ground toss a roofmelt tablet onto the roof.
However rock salt is a form of sodium chloride which corrodes metal including the metal nails holding your shingles in place.
Three to four times more expensive than rock salt according to this site.
Why you shouldn t use rock salt on your roof.
It can damage masonry.
The tablets are specially formulated with calcium chloride so they won t harm your exterior like products such as rock salt which could rust your gutters and damage shingles.
For these reasons rock salt is not a good choice when it comes to getting rid of ice dams.
They work effectively in temperatures down to 25 f.
Rusting nail heads can cause aesthetically unpleasant staining but more importantly they can result in loose roofing materials that can easily tear off during stormy weather.
As a result it can cause damage to vulnerable parts of your roof including nail heads and aluminum flashing.
If you expose the inside of gutters to salt throughout the winter the salt will eat through the finish on the inside and begin corroding the metal.
Melted water with rock salt mixed can drip off the roof edge and onto stone or brick masonry.
The roofmelt ice melt is designed to eliminate the need to climb onto roofs while melt snow.
Use roof melt tablets to reduce snow and ice buildup that occurs on your roof typically on the eaves and in gutters.
Rock salt is corrosive in nature.
Salt is damaging to plants and very few varieties are tolerant enough to withstand the dangerous levels that can occur when you use rock salt on your roof.
Use ice melt only when there s no alternative.
The dangers of rock salt on roof shingles 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.
No it s dangerous for landscaping.