Removing snow and ice from the asphalt surfaces of your property may be a task you dread every winter. Luckily, the process doesn’t need to be as cumbersome as you might expect.
This guide offers a few tips for simplifying the process of removing ice and snow. Keep these tips in mind as the winter weather moves in.
The Importance of Removing Snow and Ice from Your Asphalt Surfaces
If snow and ice have accumulated on your driveway, parking lot, and other such asphalt surfaces, removal should be among your top priorities. Removing snow and ice from your asphalt surfaces doesn’t merely boost your own safety—it also boosts the safety of anyone else on the property.
The law may require you, as a property owner, to address hazards like snow and ice in a timely manner. You could be the target of a lawsuit if someone were to injure themselves on your property in a slip and fall accident because you failed to remove snow and ice properly.
In addition, allowing ice and snow to remain on your asphalt for long periods of time could result in damage to the asphalt.
That doesn’t need to happen! Tips for removing snow and ice from asphalt include:
Shovel
Start with the basics. Depending on how much snow has already accumulated, beginning the removal process with shoveling may be best. Once you’ve shoveled some of the heavier snow away, you can begin attempting other methods to remove the ice and snow that you could not remove with a shovel.
Apply a Deicing Agent
Do you live or own a property in an area that may be prone to relatively harsh winter weather? If so, stock up on rock salt or similar deicing agents before the winter season begins. Apply these products to your asphalt surfaces to melt ice after you’ve shoveled any snow atop the ice layers.
(Tip: Don’t let rock salt or similar deicing agents come into contact with your pets, kids, or your plants. Carefully read the instructions to confirm you’re using the product correctly.)
Spray Rubbing Alcohol
No worries if you don’t have any rock salt or other such deicing agents on hand. An alternative in this scenario is to fill a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and spray your asphalt surfaces.
After about half an hour, the rubbing alcohol should have loosened the ice. You may now shovel it away more easily than you could before.
Install Space Heaters
If a winter storm isn’t particularly severe, this tip may prove effective as a means of limiting the accumulation of ice and snow in the first place.
Safely installing space heaters in strategic spots in the outdoor sections of your property can help prevent snow and ice from building up. Although they might not stop snow and ice from accumulating entirely, they can minimize the amount that does accumulate, making the removal process easier.
Learn About Asphalt Repair Services
Again, removing ice and snow is key to protecting your asphalt from damage this winter. That said, if your asphalt does sustain any harm over the years, it may be possible to restore it to its original condition.
At Topwest Asphalt Ltd., offering paving solutions in Langley, Chilliwack, Mission, Maple Ridge, and Abbotsford, our asphalt repair team is on hand to help when your asphalt has seen better days. Find out what we can do for you by contacting us online or calling us at 604 755 0300.
