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Life outside the city has many advantages, the main of which is the presence of its own plot and proximity to the picturesque nature. In winter, after a snowfall, the house and the surroundings around them turn into a real fairy tale, the snow cover beautifully covers the paths and covers the trees … And admire this endlessly, but there is another side to this beauty: you will have to, do snow removal, remove snow from your site on your own.
Why is it important to regularly clean the snow on the site in winter
When you live in a private house, you understand that snow can bring a lot of problems and breakdowns, so it is very important to organize its cleaning on time. After all, it is better to prevent the problem than to clean up the multiple consequences.
One of the obvious problems is the inaccessibility of the house and all buildings on the site. You need to take care, first of all, about clearing a path of sufficient width from the gate to the porch. Also, clear the area for parking the car and make at least narrow paths to the outbuildings that you use in winter (barn, cellar, garage, bathhouse, and others).
It is necessary not only to clear the snow, but also to get rid of ice and avoid the formation of slippery ice. If there are stairs on the site, take special care of their safety during the winter.
If you do not clean the snow from the roof, this can create many problems:
- Threat to life and health of people in case of thawing and melting of snow and ice.
- Roof damage if the mass of snow exceeds the maximum allowable load on your roof. Both the coating and the roof structure can be damaged.
- Damage to buildings near a house or cars.
The most ideal, of course, is to clear the snow cover immediately, without accumulating whole snowdrifts on the roof. The difference in temperature during the day, especially when the sun is shining, and at night leads to the fact that the snow melts, and the melt water freezes, forming ice. Such a snow-ice cover is already extremely difficult to remove, and it poses more danger.
Trees are another point to watch out for after a snowfall. A lot of snow sticks to them and under this weight branches often break, and sometimes whole trees fall. It is much easier and safer to shake off the snow right away than to accumulate it throughout the winter months, while taking a lot of risk. This also applies to garden fruit and ornamental trees. Broken branches of an apple or pear tree will not please any gardener.
Methods for clearing snow on the site in winter
The front of work on the site after a snowfall is scary, but with modern snow blowers, this work can be done twice as fast. Let’s see what they are.
Snow blowers have approximately the same design and consist of a metal body, an engine, a control system, elements for collecting snow, the so-called augers, and then throwing it away. To choose the most convenient and efficient snow blower for your area, you need to consider the following criteria:
- By engine type, snow blowers are electric and gasoline. Electric snow blowers are inferior in power and are only suitable if there is access to electricity in the cleared area, but these machines are easier to operate because they do not require oil changes and engine maintenance. Petrol snow blowers are more powerful and autonomous.
- Self-propelled. Non-self-propelled snow blowers should be pushed in front of you using force. They are quite suitable for cleaning a small area such as a summer residence, but they are able to remove only freshly fallen snow without icing, since the auger is made not of metal, but of rubber. Self-propelled snow blowers have high cross-country ability and high power. When cleaning, the operator is only concerned with the control.
- According to the method of snow removal, snow blowers are single-stage – only the auger is the working body, and two-stage – in addition to the auger, they also have a rotor. It increases the force of snow throwing.
- When choosing a snow blower by bucket size, remember that a large bucket only pays for itself when the snow blower engine is powerful.
If you are confident that you can do it without the help of snow plowing equipment, then you need to choose a good, comfortable snow shovel. Here the criteria are as follows:
- The material of the shovel itself: plastic is light and resistant to damage, metal is durable, and wood requires care and treatment with water-repellent compounds.
- Shovel shape and shovel size: The wide flat shape is suitable for clearing a large area, the 40 cm rectangular shovels are the most convenient and frequently purchased.
- Edge material: metal will protect the shovel when cleaning hard surfaces such as asphalt, while plastic will not damage the surface being cleaned.
- Shovel handle material: wooden – classic, does not tan in the cold, durable and strong, aluminum is convenient only if rubberized, and plastic is quite fragile and can not withstand the fight against ice crusts.
Well, when the snow is cleared, you need to think about getting rid of the ice. Reagents can help here. The choice must be taken seriously, because in a residential area where there are many plants and there may be animals, only safe formulations can be used.
- Technical salt. It is very important to mix salt with sand to reduce the dosage and not harm the soil and plants.
- Calcium Chloride Reagents: Highly effective with minimal environmental impact.
- Absolutely natural and safe: sand, ash, marble chips, fine gravel.
When using chemically active reagents at the site, strictly follow the dosage according to the instructions. Apply reagent only after clearing snow from the area. After exposure of the drug to the ice, you need to remove the resulting porridge (it is better to collect it in a container, and not scatter it over the entire area). It is recommended to use reagents only at temperatures below -10C. If it is warmer outside, it is advisable to remove the ice mechanically.
How to choose the best way to clear snow
The solution to the problem of snow removal is determined not only by individual preferences, but also depends on the organization of buildings on the territory of the site. What paths are in width, is there a place where you can dump the removed snow, are there green spaces that can be damaged – all these criteria speak for or against the use of snowblowers and reagents. It is possible that the only way not to harm your area by removing snow is to remove it exclusively with a shovel.
It is also important to consider the area in which you live. Weather conditions dictate their own rules, and in case of sudden temperature changes, reagents simply cannot be done. And if you live where snowfall is a frequent occurrence, it is very difficult to cope with only one shovel and a snowblower is a necessity for you.
Well, if you have decided how you will clear your area of snow, dress in comfortable clothes, arm yourself with strength and patience! The work is not easy, but the result will make you feel proud and grateful to your family.