One recurring question our building managers have this time of year – what’s the best way to remove snow and ice without destroying the earth? The best and cleanest way is naturally not the easiest – it takes some hard labor. Shovel the snow and break up the ice. That’s the best way.
Snowblowers are loud, annoying to neighbors and gas-guzzling. Plus, they don’t clear away the ice that’s beneath the snow. But an electric snowblower uses less energy, makes less noise, and gives off no emissions in stark contrast to its gas-powered counterparts – so if you must blow snow, electric is definitely the way to go.
If you cannot break up the ice that’s built up, sprinkle something gritty on the ice for traction until it melts naturally – sand, cat litter, or even bird seed are good choices. These things won’t melt your ice, but they’ll help you travel over it safely until sunshine and warmer temperatures do make the ice disappear. But too much of anything can be bad for storm drains. Sprinkle sparingly and let Mother Nature do her job.
If you simply can’t wait for Mother Nature to take care of things, you can melt the ice. Lots of people use salt for their driveways and walkways. Salt is a really abundant, naturally occurring resource. It shouldn’t hurt the environment, right? Wrong! Salt can get into our waterways and poison the fish and vegetation. It is also corrosive and can damage cars, leading to reduced sustainability of vehicles. Whenever possible, avoid using salt as a deicer. Calcium magnesium acetate-based deicer is expensive, but it is a more environmentally friendly ice remover than rock salt.
Heat. If you are up for a project – install a radiant heating system into your driveway. This method uses electricity, but if you power the heated driveway in an eco-friendly manner, this can potentially be the easiest way to remove snow and ice.
Being from eco-friendly place like Boulder – there’s a company out there who really does this right. We’re happy to recommend Eco Snow Removal’s services to our Boulder county clients.
