The Reason You’re Seeing Socks on Rooftops in Maine

I know this may seem bizarre and it totally is, but if you have been noticing socks, yes socks, on the top of roofs in Maine lately, there is a reason.

No, Mainers aren’t trying a new TikTok laundry trend or drying socks on the tops of there houses, this is something that could help prevent terrible damage to your home.  

This is an incredibly clever survival trick for home owners during the harsh, icy winter in Maine. And it honestly may just save your roof.  

Here’s the deal, a ton of homes right now are filled with snow and ice, including my own home which made my wife Nelly, worried, We were outside marveling at the crazy, long, thick, and dangerous icicles and my son and I were trying to hit them off with snow balls.  

One huge ice block fell off and my wife noticed that part of our roof was stuck to it!  

So while my son and I pivoted back to pretending we were Vikings locked in an epic snow-sword battle for honor and glory, my wife was trying to save our roof. It was all very intense. 

She did what most of us do when we don’t know what to do, jumped into the world wide web and started panic scrolling and researching.  

One thing none of us want is roof repairs in the middle of January, no thanks. Hard pass.  

Nelly surprisingly found a hack online which consisted of filling an old sock with rock salt and tossing it up on the roof on top of the ice blocks.

Why Are There Socks on Roofs All Over Maine Right Now?

As per the video below from The Old House via Facebook, the salt will slowly melt and channel through the snow and ice.

That little trick will help break up the ice and let the water drain properly instead of it refreezing and tearing the roof apart.  

We call them the “salt socks” and they should help prevent ice dams on your roof.

We learned that when the ice is trapped, ice can force water under shingles which will cause massive leaks through your ceiling into your home! That’s a lot of damage and sadness.

Lots of sadness, So before that happens, “salt socks” to the rescue.  

As the video states, this isn’t a long term fix but it’s more of a “Right now” save your sanity during the peak icy and snow season in Maine.  

Read More: Here's 30 Things Mainers Always Complain About During the Winter

So if you notice socks just chilling on the roof, it’s creativity and desperation, which is what us Mainers do best to solve problems.

Stay warm, and use this extremely helpful hack to get you through. It’s okay to sacrifice a few socks, you're going to lose them anyway, right?