Agreed. I did that back in 2015, and it worked wonders. Any good ice melt product should do the trick. We used the nylons because we needed to break thru the dams on the roof as well to create some drainage. If it is just in the gutters, you can probably put ice melt/sodium chloride directly on the ice . I think we did that too, but I'm sure someone will let us know if that is a bad idea. Also chipped a lot away, but you have to be careful not to damage the gutters, the shingles, and your elbow.