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Business & Tech

Winter Help: Clearing Away Snow and Ice

Local ACE Hardware expert offers safe and effective tips on clearing away snow and ice around your home.

As the winter snow continues to fall, we asked Tri-City Ace Hardware Owner Dan Klepp for some helpful advice on the best way to clear snow and ice from the areas around your home.

Of course, there are snow removal companies that can do the work for you, but for the times when a snowblower or snow removal service is not available or necessary, there are some common sense tips – as well as a few handy tools – that can make the job a lot easier and safer.

First, a word about safety: needless to say, clearing away snow and ice can present hazards, from falling down, heart attacks and falling icicles. Never shovel snow if you have health concerns unless you have checked with a physician first. Never go on the roof of your house when it is wet, icy, or covered with snow. And always wear proper-fitting, waterproof boots that give you good traction on slippery surfaces.

“The main thing is to be safe and do not over do it,” Klepp said. “Stay within your limits and call a neighbor for help if you need it.”

Driveways, walkways, patios and decks

The first area of priority is routinely clearing the walkways and driveways around your home. According to Klepp, choosing the proper snow shovel can make the job a lot easier and safer.

There are two main types of snow shovels: “pusher” and “scoop.”

“A pusher is more like a snow plow. It’s best for shallow snowfalls because you’re not going to be lifting a lot of snow with that type of shovel,” he said. Plus, the push-type shovels are wider and do not have sides, compared to the scoop types, he added.

“For heavier snow, there’s the scoop-type shovels, which have both a metal or plastic tip edge,” Klepp said. “The metal edge helps scrape away ice and compacted snow.”

The disadvantage of the metal-tip shovels is they are not recommended for patios, decks, or wood surfaces, such as porches. Plastic-tip shovels are recommended to softer surfaces. Average prices for a good shovel range between $15 and $20, Klepp said.

There are also ergonomic “bent” handle shovels to minimize back strain and there are also ice scrapers for breaking up thicker ice and compacted snow, such as areas where cars have packed down the snow.

Ice Melts

Once the ice and snow is cleared from the surface, an ice melt is recommended to keep the areas from accumulating more snow and ice, and to help break-up problem areas that the shovels cannot clear.

“Rock salt is the lowest cost and most commonly used, but it is also the most corrosive and potentially damaging to surfaces, pets and plants,” Klepp said. “And, rock salt is also the least effective in lower temperatures compared to other ice melt products.”

The safest and most effective ice melt product is magnesium chloride. It is a little more expensive ($11 for a 25-pound bag, versus $4 for a 25-pound bag of rock salt) but it works down to minus-25 degrees, compared to rock salt, which begins to loose its effectiveness at 20 degrees.

For wood decks and decorative patio surfaces, magnesium chloride is the best option to prevent damage to the wood and colored concrete surfaces.

“Rock salt can really cause a lot of damage to lawns, decks and concrete surfaces in certain situations,” Klepp said. “On highly sensitive areas, the safest option is to use sand if you can tolerate it getting tracked around, but otherwise, magnesium chloride is the safest for all surfaces.”

Calcium chloride is another option that costs a little less than magnesium chloride, but it also does not work as well below minus 15 degrees.

Roofs

A less frequently recognized area to remove snow and ice is the roof of your home According to Klepp, ice dams on roofs can lead to water back-up underneath the shingles and causing water damage inside the house.

Once snow that has accumulated on the roof of a house begins to melt, water travels down the roof surface until it reaches the colder overhang areas and it re-freezes. As more snow melts, more water continues to build up behind the frozen dam.

“That water can seep up under the shingle and run down inside your house,” Klepp said. “If you see icicles, you have an insulation problem and you have an ice dam forming.”

One safe and effective way to prevent ice dams is to use a roof rake to scrape snow off the roof of the house. Typical snow rakes cost around $40 and can save homeowners a lot in repairs.

Like driveways and decks, there are ice melt products for roofs. They are small discs of magnesium chloride which are designed to dissolve on the roof and melt the ice dams.

Dan Klepp is a long-time handyman and owner of Tri-City Ace Hardware on 1241 W. 14 Mile Road near Crooks in Clawson. He can be reached at dan@tricityace.com or 248-655-5000.

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