How To Deal With Snow On Your Home’s Driveway And Walkway
Slippery driveways and walkways go hand in hand with the holiday season like hot cocoa and marshmallows. We don’t have to tell you that having a nice steaming cup of cocoa is much better than having to deal with shoveling snow on your home’s walkway and driveway. But, since it is a necessary “evil” we can help you deal with it in the best possible way this year by covering some tips and strategies that you can start using today! Read on for more snow removal hacks.
Get In Early And Often
This may not be fun to hear, but unfortunately shoveling your driveway once or twice throughout a long period of snowfall is much easier than waiting until the snow has stopped. Set a timer for about 90 minute intervals during heavy snowfall to zip outside and shovel as much as you can in the most high traffic areas. You should really only have to do this twice and maybe once more after the snow has stopped. Waiting too long can allow the snow on the lowest layer to melt and turn to ice and make shoveling the rest much harder.
Add More Stability As You Shovel
If you’re like many Americans, your driveway and even your front walkway is at a slight angle towards the street. That helps with runoff and the like during the warmer months, but during the winter it can turn your front walkway into a slip hazard zone. This is especially true as you are out there shoveling snow. If you find that you are slipping too often, then try sprinkling a few shovels full of sand or extra dirt from your garden onto your walkway. That will help you get extra traction while shoveling and makes it easier to get stuck on snow off the cement. If you don’t have sand handy, then you can use kitty litter! Buy the cheapest biggest bag you can find and use that instead.
Bonus tip: kitty litter is also handy to have around in case you spill oil or other industrial liquids in and around your garage. Just cover the spill and sweep it up after an hour.
Prevent Ice Ahead Of Time With Salt
If you have to leave for work or to run errands and you know it is going to snow while you are gone, you can help to reduce snow and ice buildup by putting a hearty sprinkling of ice melting salt on your walkway area before the snow starts. This will help less snow stick and will all but eliminate ice buildup for when you are able to get home and start shoveling.
Slick Up Your Shovel
You can use olive oil or any other cooking spray to help your shovel move more easily in the snow and to make it so less snow sticks to your shovel as you are working. You may have to re-apply once per shoveling session or between sessions.
Tarp it!
Another great way to prevent snow and ice buildup is to put a tarp down before the snow starts. This way you can just lift the tarp and dump the snow on the side out of the way.
