For someone who lives in an area where heavy snowfall is a common occurrence, preparations for the frosty winter months starts way before the actual onset. Thermal innerwear and other protective clothing, cleaning out gutters, repairing leaky pipes, insulating water lines, ensuring that the heating system is running, servicing your car’s radiator – the list doesn’t end.
The Best Equipment For Removing Snow
There are hundreds of things you have to think of before a snowstorm has locked in your own house. Add to it another unavoidable and supremely important task of ensuring that your driveway and sidewalk and front yard are free of snow.
For this mammoth task, you will have to rely on snow removal equipment. Luckily for you, there is an extensive market to cater to these needs and you have multiple snow removal equipment to choose from.
Snow Blowers
Owing to technological superiority and increased reliance, a snow blower is the first solution that comes to mind when the problem is piles of snow. Contrary to what many people would like you to believe, buying a snow blower isn’t rocket science. At the same time, it is not a decision that you can make without weighing all the pros and cons that the snow blowers in the market have to offer.
Apart from the ease of use, another main attraction is the speed that the machine offers. You can clear more snow from a larger area and on most days, that is one thing which counts the most. The benefits don’t end here. You can find self-propelling snow blowers with ergonomic handles that will dispense the collected snow in any direction you’d like. Some snow blowers on the market with integrated heated handgrips, speed and chute control, drift cutters and power steering among other features.
The difference between snow throwers, two-stage snow blowers, and three-stage snow blowers is because of how the different types of snow blowers work. Two-stage and three-stage snow blowers offer a wider range and more speed.
Electric Snow Shovels
This is another electric-powered snow removal equipment that is designed to make your life simpler. While snow blowers are better suited for regions that experience medium to heavy snowfall, electric snow shovels can easily tend to light to moderate snowfall.
One of the more obvious advantages of electric snow shovels is that they’re not as expensive as snow blowers but can work faster and get more snow cleared as compared to general snow shovels. Depending on the amount you are willing to spend, you can opt for battery-powered or cordless snow shovels.
Or you could also go for a corded snow shovel if you have a power outlet outside your house. The clearing width that these snow shovels offer can range from 12 inches to 16 inches. Plus they don’t take up a lot of storage space and are easy to carry around.
General Snow Shovels
When all else fails, you can always go back to your roots: the general snow shovel. Snow shovels are a reliable alternative because firstly, you don’t have to worry about charging them. Secondly, the cost of replacing them in case of any damages is going to be way lesser than replacing an electricity-powered snow removal equipment. And the fact that show shovels require low to no maintenance is just a cherry on the top.
More often than not, because of the drift cutters present in snow blowers, there is a thin layer of snow left behind. You will end up needing a snow shovel to get rid of that layer of ice. However, remember that snow shovels make sense when you know that the amount of snowfall expected isn’t enough to bury your plants. If you try and use a snow shovel to dig through more than 5 feet of hard-packed snow, you will end up hurting yourself.
Brush up on your snow shoveling techniques when using a general snow shovel!
Snow Roof Rakes
You access your front yard or backyard and driveways and sidewalks far more regularly and thus, it can be easy to neglect your roof. When a large amount of snow ends up accumulating on your roof, it can lead to the formation of ice damns. And even though, on the surface it may seem harmless, the truth is that an ice dam can just as easily leak into your home causing damage.
Removing snow from your roof can be more complicated and time-consuming than clearing your driveway or patio.
In such situations, snow roof rakes will be your best friend. The best part of snow roof rakes is that you can stand on the ground and clear snow from the roof without any risks. Any snow rake worth buying will have a rust-resistant pole and blade and strut supports.
Invest in a quality roof rake to prevent your roof from collapsing.
Snow Car Brushes
Another common area that tends to get covered with snow but is neglected is your car. Even though you may use your car every day, you’re probably in a rush. Car owners end up sweeping away the snow with their hands only from their windshield forgetting about the probable dire consequences of snow and ice on their vehicles.
Snow brushes are snow removal tools that will help you get rid of snow quickly when you are in a rush. Snow brushes with telescoping handles and non-abrasive foam brooms don’t just take away the exertion of cleaning out snow but also protect your car’s surfaces from scratches.
Snow brushes with bristles will ensure that there’s no snow left behind in gaps. A few snow brushes also come with integrated snow scraper blades that will easily break up the snow that might have frozen on top of your car.
Fortunately, even with snow brushes, you have multiple options with diverse features to choose from.
Your choice of snow removal equipment cannot and should not be based on someone else’s preferences and requirements. Consider your budgets and needs and then proceed to shortlist the snow removal equipment that works for you.
