Some of the best protection for your roof and home from ice dams is prevention. Although there is no way to guarantee that ice dams won’t form on your roof, there are certainly a few things you can do to minimize the chance of them forming. Here are three suggestions.

1. Keep your gutters and downspouts clear

Prior to cold weather, clear out leaves, sticks and debris from your gutters and down spots to provide a channel for melting snow or ice to go, says the National Weather Service. Throughout the winter, you’ll also want to keep those same gutters and downspouts clear of snow and icicles.

2. Help control the temperature of your attic

As mentioned earlier in this article, allowing airflow into your attic will help prevent it from getting warm in certain areas, which is what typically causes ice dams to form. One of the most important ways to help airflow in the attic is by ventilating the eaves (the edge of the roof that overhangs a wall) and the roof ridges (the highest points of a roof), explains This Old House. This can be done with both ridge and soffit vents that provide at least one square foot of opening for every 300 square feet of attic floor.

This Old House also provides the following suggestions for helping control the attic temperature:

Insulate attic access doors. You can either use a cover or seal an existing hatch with weatherstripping.
Check your exhaust ducts. Make sure all ducts from bathrooms, kitchens or other living areas exhaust to the outside, not the attic. This also applies to dryer vents.
Add insulation in your attic floor. This can help keep the warm air inside your home and out of the attic. Most experts recommend at least an R-value of 30 (or 38 for northern climates) for attic insulation, according to the National Weather Service. Consult a reputable roofing or insulation professional for the specific type of insulation that would be right for your attic.
Replace older can lights with sealed ones. Older recessed lightning not only gives off a lot of heat into your attic but can also be a fire hazard with insulation above it. Make sure you replace them with sealed "IC Rated" fixtures that are safe to come in contact with insulation.
Check the flashing around chimneys. Over time, flashing may crack and separate from the roof, which could allow water or moisture to trickle in along the chimney. Have a chimney or roofing professional check the flashing and repair/replace it, as needed.
Caulk any small openings to the attic. Whether it’s around vents, pipes or electrical cables – look for any small gaps and seal around them with a fire-stop sealant.

3. Install de-icing cables

De-icing (or heat) cables are also a good way to prevent ice dams from forming on your roof and gutters, according to Family Handyman. You can install these cables along the edge of your roof, where ice dams tend to build up. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when installing them and turn them on after heavy snowfall or when you begin to see ice forming.

Check your local hardware store to see if these are available in your area, otherwise you can purchase them online. These cables can start around $35, according to Family Handyman, and go up in price as more features are added (like ones that have sensors to turn on automatically). Also, be sure you’re thinking about where the draining water goes so that you don’t get build up of ice in other unwanted areas.