What can I do to my drivway before the snowstorm to make shoveling easier afterwards?

Question

Second round of snow storm coming here in Minnesota, just wondering if there was anything I could put on our driveway before the storm comes to make shoveling easier in the morning...

Does salt work if you put it down BEFORE the storm? other handy ideas?

Answer 1

Pre-salting works good but the air temperature is going to determine if it is worth while. My belief is that if it is going to be cold the snow is going to be light (weight wise) don't do anything because it will be easier to shovel. However if it is going to be warmer and the snow is going to be heavier (weight wise) then try to burn it off with salt. Another thing to take into consideration is if it is going to be colder than say 10 degrees and you want to burn it off with salt then you need to use calcium chloride because salt just doesn't work in cold temperature. Problem comes when there is a lot of snow coming. If you pre-salt, the bottom will be wet, and the snow that eventually sticks will be heavy to lift off.

Best thing to do but also the most expensive thing to do is put in a heating system that melts the snow off. They run tubes under the driveway and pump heated antifreeze through them which heats up the concrete or asphalt and melts the snow away. Cost is a concern but also once the snow melts off the drive and runs into the yard or street it will freeze again and cause an ice skating ring or an ice dam where future water wont be able to run off.

Answer 2

Salt is great before the storm. Back in the days when New England highway departments had big budgets and little supervision they would always put a layer of salt on the roads before the storm. That way when the snow came it was not going to freeze onto the road. That meant the shoveling would just slide the salt-weakened snow right off rather than having to scrape it off.

Answer 3

you could try getting a large tarp and putting that down, then you just have to drag the tarp off.

salt wont work unless there is already some liquid down to start desolving it, so it might work if it isnt snowing hard enough to accumlate quickly, but for a heavy snow, i doubt its going to do anything.

personally, i want to get a driveway that has some heating coils or soemthing under it. i mean, we have a 55 gallon fishtank with a small heater in it, that we can turn on and off, and it will heat the water pretty quickly. why cant they lay some kind of wires under a driveway with a switch in your house that can do pretty much the same thing? it has to be possible. any inventors out there? please feel free to steal that idea and make it work. i'll but the first one when you start selling them.

Answer 4

Well, yes, a deicer would cause the first snow to melt, but then it may also make he snow heavier to shovel. I think the best preparation you do is to make sure there is no ice build up on the driveway that would make shoveling a pain in the back.
Otherwise, spring is almost here - could you just wait for it to melt? Sorry, I live in Barbados and could not resist that. But hey! We lived in Northern British Columbia for 20 years so we know snow.

Answer 5

as long as the salt stays there it will help. I am from Michigan have have not come up with a solution for easier snow removal either. i always wanted a heated driveway. but the cost.

Answer 6

My other half did this before our last snow. I can't say that it made shoveling easier. Shoveling snow is just flat out hard work.

Answer 7

I like to go out and shovel every few hours. This is much easier then shoveling 12" at once.

Answer 8

salt. I've done this before sleet & snow. Makes it sooo much easier to shovel. Ice is easier to remove too.

Answer 9

I live in Minnesota also. I put down that sno-melt pellets...in fact I just got done doing it. I put it on my sidewalks and driveway. It really does work great. Hope you made it to the grocery and liquor store. It looks like this one might last awhile.

Answer 10

Salt does work beforehand, but you need enough salt melt a
ALL the snow that falls or you have a mess, You could invest anywhere from about $250 on up a get a snowblower -- they work
like a charm. (one snowblower = ? $$$$ in salt bags)