February 2010 Archives

As winter weather continues to pummel away at us and many of our tools and equipment begin to wear down the use of ice melt to battle cleaning our walkways and driveways increases. Today, there are many choices and applications to consider before applying. One should always consider the type of pavement the material is being applied to as some ice melts are more corrosive than others. There is also the issue of damaging the surrounding environment and landscape.
The first type of ice melt and the most popular and least costly to apply is rock salt. It is the same as table salt, sodium chloride, with all the impurities - so don't use on food! It's cheap and easy to apply. Unfortunately, it is corrosive to steel and rebar. It will also damage concrete especially new concrete. It does not work well when temperatures are below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. If it should get into your lawn and shrubs it will damage them.

With the possibility of a big snow storm arriving this week  the time to prepare is now. Large snow storms can wreak havoc for days following the big blast. Here are a few tips to help you prepare:

1. Make sure you are prepared to remove snow from your driveway, walkways, and even your roof!

2. Have snow shovels and ice melt ready. Too many times the snow shovels are old and about to break. Make sure you have plenty of ice melt handy. Go see Manny and staff at Greenlawn Hardware www.greenlawnhardware.com. They have everything you need and they are very knowledgeable and friendly.

3. If you need ice melt, I have a safe non toxic environmentally friendly supply that is $24.95 + tax for a 50 lb bag.