Tips for Keeping Your Driveway Safe and Clear This Winter

Tips for Keeping Your Driveway Safe and Clear This Winter is a contributor post

In many parts of the United States, snow and ice are staples of the winter season. If snow and ice buildup restricts your ability to get around, you know just how frustrating winter can be. We have a few tips for keeping your driveway safe during the winter season.

Keep the Driveway Clear of Snow

Letting snow accumulate on your driveway can lead to all kinds of problems. As snow melts, it can refreeze overnight to create a layer of ice, which can take longer to get rid of.

When a lot of snow accumulates, you may need to use a shovel or snow blower to remove it all. It is best to move the snow to an area that won’t allow it to blow back onto your driveway if it is windy.

You should shovel or blow snow off of your driveway to prevent it from melting partially and refreezing. When you get rid of the snow, you also clear a path to get out of your driveway when you need to leave.

It might be a good idea to start clearing off snow before it starts to pile up. At this point, you may be able to clear your driveway with just a broom. As more snow accumulates, it will be more and more difficult to get all of the snow removed.

Put Down Salt

Salt is sold in large quantities in the colder months to prevent ice from making driveways, walkways, roads, and parking lots safer.

Salt helps melt ice that sticks to outdoor surfaces to prevent slipping and sliding. Ice is dangerous to anyone walking or driving in the affected areas.

Putting salt is an easy way to prevent and eliminate ice on your driveway, and there are so many different kinds of salt ice melters available. If you have pets, consider getting a rock salt that is made to reduce the impact that salt has on your pet’s feet.

Salt can lead to frostbite or chemical burns on the bottoms of your pet’s feet, because the salt, along with the ice outside, can make the temperature of your dog’s feet drop to dangerous temperatures.

You should remove the salt residue from your dog’s paws to prevent them from licking it off because the salt is poisonous. Salt can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and disorientation are all symptoms of salt poisoning, and the condition can be fatal if too much salt is ingested.

There are ice melts that are made specifically for use around pets, so if you have a pet, you should consider one of these options, like Safe Step Sure Paws.

Get Traction

When you need to get out in the snow and ice, it is important that you have traction to get out of your driveway. You can put down sand, straw, wood chips, or kitty litter to help your tires get traction on the driveway and possibly out into the road.

You may need to use something for traction even after removing snow and ice from the driveway if the area stays wet as the temperatures dip below freezing.

These three tips should help you keep your driveways and walkways safe for walking and driving on no matter how icy and snowy it gets in your area this winter.