Snow Management

Winter is upon us and that means chill winds and hours upon hours of snowfall. In some places, snowfall can pile up several inches and cover everything in white sheet of nothingness. While it may be a pretty sight, the consequences are far from pretty.

Yes, we want a white Christmas, but when the snow stops life in its tracks it can be really inconvenient. Snow deposition can prevent vehicular flow, halt businesses from operating and may require schools to close down. Life as we know it can get hampered severely by continuous snowfall. So, below are some ways to deal with the problem to an extent:

• Chemical de-icing:

Chemicals such as the normal rock salt or sodium chloride are used to melt away the snow. This technique is really cheap since everyone has salt in their homes and sprinkling some can help thaw the snow and make it less of an obstruction. However, the method will only do the trick if conditions are not too cold and there is some water present among the snow for the salt or other de-icers to do their job.

• Using snow blowers, shovels or snow pushers:

Another way to deal with the menace of excessive snow outside your pavement or sidewalk is the use of snow blowers or shovels or even snow pushers. These are easily available and are extremely affordable. Snow blowers make use of the air pressure to ‘blow’ away the snow, acting as a reverse vacuum.

Similarly, shovels can be used to soften and move snow from an area that needs to be cleared to an area which is not a pathway. Snow pushers also act to achieve the same by helping users push the snow away to a different location.

These are naturally only good for small-scale snow removal, like outside a house, but can be tedious and impossible outside a huge commercial property, say a school.

• Use of heavy machinery:

Heavy duty machines with various attachments and levels of snow removal capabilities can be rented to remove snow on a large scale. Huge commercial properties can either rent equipment and services or sign a contract with a snow removal firm that own snow removal vehicles. The equipment is huge and able to get rid of an enormous amount of snow in a short period of time.

Commercial properties find it necessary to hire such service every winter and signing a contract with a reliable firm simplifies things greatly.

Managing snow:

The best way of really managing snow is by prepping for it. Pre-emptive action is necessary before things get out of control. So throwing brine solution on roads, hiring a snow plowing service before time and getting all the tools and equipment necessary to remove snow ready.

To fight snow one must strategize beforehand. Once the snow starts to fall and continues to pile up and solidify there is very little that can be done unless you are prepared. So if you do not wish to face the consequences of extreme snowfall, then start managing the problem before it even arises.