11 Snow Removal Hacks That Save You! 

Winters are troublesome for the locations where it snows rigorously. When the season arrives, the house owners have this hassle in mind to get the snow removed as soon as the snowing ends. 

They seek to hire professional snow removal businesses to help them with the job. But some snow removal hacks can help homeowners take immediate recovery actions before they can call for help. 

This way, people won’t be stuck in the snow until help reaches them. So, if you are a snow and ice removal company, make sure you educate your customers about these snow removal hacks listed below for emergency ice and snow removal. Later, you can reach their site to help them completely eradicate the snow from their property. 

Suppose you are a resident or homeowner seeking hacks to remove snow. In that case, you have all the immediate or precautionary actions listed below to battle the snow before a team of professionals arrives at the site for your rescue. 

List of 11 Hacks for Removal of Ice and Snow

Here are some of the quick and easy ice and snow removal hacks for people to clear snow all by themselves before professional help reaches them:

1. Snow shoveling

Use now shoveling - snow removal hacks

You must have a snow shovel in your backyard at all times. Wait for the snowing to stop and then schedule for lightly shoveling snow to clear out the blocked areas. For instance, if your doors are blocked by snow, shovel the area to make it accessible. 

If there is an indication from the weather department that the snowfall is not about to stop anytime soon, then you do not have to wait till it is over. Instead, you can prepare a timetable and shovel the snow every one or two hours. This way, you won’t have much clearing to do after the snowfall ends. 

2. Use cooking oil or spray

In relation to the first snow removal hack, you can use cooking spray or oil over the shovel. The oil prevents snow from sticking to the shovel’s surface, making snow removal easier. 

Wet snow is tough to dig through and consumes a lot of time for clearing the blocked snow. You must clean the shovel to remove the oil remnants before storing it in your backyard. 

3. Use table or rock salt

Table or rock salt is a perfect temporary de-icer if you learn to use it in advised moderation. It is most crucial for the windshield of your car. Use of table salt will help prevent the formation of hard frost over your car’s windshield throughout the cold and snowy night. 

For this technique, one must place table salt in some old socks and then rub it all over the windows and windshield the night before a predicted snowfall or generally on cold, snowy winter nights. 

One must rub it all over the surface properly to ensure that the trick works well to serve the purpose. But remember that overusing this technique can affect the car’s surfaces that are being de-iced. 

Instead of table salt, you can also use any kind of salty liquid solution such as spray de-icer or pickle juice. If you reside somewhere where it snows throughout winter, then you should get a specific bag of salt manufactured for de-icing purposes. 

4. Use of rubbing alcohol

Most homeowners have to rub alcohol in their medicine cabinets for several purposes. But it is a great tool that can be effective in defrosting the windows after a snowy winter night. Spray the solution all over the icy windows thoroughly. 

Following that, you can use an old towel to dry the windows. This trick will help you get rid of the window ice and will also repel fogging. As an alternative, you can also use gin, rum, vodka, or any clear alcohol for de-icing the windows. The process of spraying and drying remains the same. 

5. Lukewarm water for walkways and cars

It is one of the quick and easy tips, but it needs a lot of precaution. It is mostly used to clear the ice from door locks, car windows, car locks, stairs, and walkways. 

You must pour lukewarm water on the iced area and immediately use a squeegee to get rid of runoff to prevent additional snow formation. Depending on the intensity of snow build-up, you might have to repeat the process multiple times to free up the blockages due to snow. 

It might fascinate you to use hot water to speed up the process but don’t do that at all! It is because when you use hot water, it will create an extreme temperature difference. As a result, the reaction might crack the car windows, warp the metals and even damage the concrete floors. 

So, take all the precautions and implement this snow removal hack to remove all possible snow from your end. The professional will handle all the other intensified removal jobs. 

6. Use a snow-laden tarp for cars and walkways

A snow-laden tarp is a canvas drop cloth that can act as the right preventive tool for easy removal of snow. Buy some tarps from online or offline stores to use for this snow removal hack at the time of need. An average family living in a snowy region must buy at least two tarps, considering they have one car only. 

If there is a predicted snow storm or snowfall anytime, use the tarp covers to protect your car and the walkway. The purpose of it is to prevent snow from sticking to the main body of the car or on the concrete walkways. 

When you wake up in the morning and head out to use your car, take off the tarps and shake the snow off it. Store it somewhere around the backyard and head your way out. You can either seek shoveling of the piled snow yourself or wait for the professionals to do the needful. 

7. Bring your leaf blower into effective work

Landscaping season is now at rest, but your leaf blower can still be of good use. Right after the snowfall, you can get your leaf-blowing machine to clear out fluffy snow from the walkways, driveways, stairs, and around the car. 

Professionals in the business will come to your place with an equipped snow remover, thrower, or blower for eradicating heavy and wet snow from the surface. Till the time they arrive, a leaf blower would at least make your space more accessible after a snowfall. 

8. Wear socks over shoes

While shoveling, an individual might lose their grip while walking on snow. Therefore, traction must be improved to walk easily over the wet and dry snow. The best hack to do it is by wearing socks over the shoes. It will make sure that you don’t fall too often while removing snow and ice. 

9. Spreading sand on the walkways and driveways

Driving or walking on icy driveways and walkways is very difficult due to a lack of traction. The best way to build traction is by spreading sufficient sand on driveways and walkways. You can also use kitty litter for the purpose. 

You must use this snow removal hack before the snowfall, as its effect is better experienced after the accumulation of snow in the area. This technique will not hamper your plants but help you safely walk and drive around your property. 

10. Use WD-40 to free up the pipes and taps

During cold winter and snowy seasons, the sturdy pipes and taps freeze up and make them inaccessible. WD-40 is an automobile grad lubricant that can free frozen pipes, joints, and taps from freezing damage. 

Apply it before a cold night or use it after the freezing effect to free up the stiffness. 

11. WD-40 can release the frozen shut car lock system

The car’s lock mechanism can compromise due to the frozen effect. If you find your car’s lock inaccessible even after popping in the key, use a can of WD-40 oil and spray it directly on the key opening of the lock. 

Give it a minute, and it will free up the car’s lock. You can easily access the door and get inside to turn on the heater to warm up the inside. 

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FAQs

The best way to remove snow from your car is by using canvas cloth or tarp to cover the car before snowfall. The tarp will prevent snow from sticking to the car’s surface and hold it throughout the night. 

You can shake off the tarp and use your car the next day. But, the cold freezing effect might still hurt the door’s lock as the tarp is just to prevent snow and not cold effects. If snowy nights are common in the place you reside, prefer to keep a can of WD-40 oil at all times. 

If a pile of snow is gathered around your vehicle, making it difficult to drive from the spot, you might have to shovel the pile of snow before you can drive your car away. Inform the professionals, and they will later eradicate all snow from the area to clean up your property.

Some of the basic snow removal equipment or tools that you would possibly need if you are living in a region that snows in winter are:

  • Plastic tarps
  • Leaf blower
  • Shovel
  • Wet or dry vacuum cleaner
  • Shovel attachments
  • WD-40 oil
  • Cooking spray
  • Rubbing alcohol

These tools and equipment can be used for partial cleaning and defrosting of snow and ice. The major job is still to be done by professionals or local experts. Call in for help anyway, as you won’t be able to clean out all snow from and around the property.

Yes, you should prioritize using these snow removal hacks to clear the snow from your driveway. If you don’t, then you are endangering your house, car, and especially your family.

FieldCamp- The Solution for Local Experts and Homeowners to Connect Easily

FieldCamp is the tool for local snow removal experts. If you have a  business and are referring to this article for educating your customers with the emergency snow removing hacks, then there’s an amazing snow removal software you can use for your business growth. 

FieldCamp is a job scheduling software. . You never know when there is an emergency due to a snow storm or a blizzard. Anytime someone raises a request for getting rid of snow, you will get a notification on your FieldCamp portal. 

You can instantly assign employees for the work and send them to the site to respond to the situation with professional equipment. Later, after the job is done, you can educate them with these crucial ice and snow removal hacks to help them deal with emergency removal needs until professionals arrive. 

The customers of your business can also have ease of mind when they know you have digitized your business operations. It is because they know that the business would respond to the requests immediately without any delays due to manual interventions. 

FieldCamp is for streamlining snow extraction businesses and preparing them for a faster response to any job request in their area. Take a 7-day FREE trial of FieldCamp to get a better understanding of its functionality and efficacy. Customers will be able to build a rapport with you and will seek your help for not just a year but for many more to come. 

Author Bio
author

Gaurang Bhatt

Gaurang Bhatt is a techie in himself with an ability to solve problems technically and present solutions in the form of a product. He is one of the pioneers to curate FieldCamp with his 15+ years of knowledge and expertise in providing solutions to home service industries. Gaurang aims to overcome challenges faced by service business owners through software solutions and blogs.

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