The snow in Calgary always catches the city’s residents off guard the first time it happens. For sure, everyone feels the temperature dropping and knows that it’s coming up to snow season, but we always forget to prepare adequately for that first big snow. The hard part about winter in Calgary, however, is that once you’ve fallen behind on your snow clearing, it can be almost impossible to catch back up. You can find yourself wishing for the annual thaw for months as you watch the snow and ice make a mess of your yard and driveway. Fortunately, it’s possible to stay ahead of the snowfalls, and even catch up on your snow clearing with some professional help along the way.
Staying Ahead Of The Game
The first step that anyone attempting snow removal in Calgary is to keep yourself updated on upcoming storms. Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes, and you can take active measures before the snow even hits the ground to make your snow clean up job go quicker:
- Put salt down – a key component of sidewalk snow removal is planning ahead. When you know a storm is coming that is likely to coat your sidewalk and walkways with ice and snow, get out in the morning with a big bag of pet friendly salt and spread it out liberally. This will warm up the surface of the sidewalk which will cause more snow to melt as it hits, leaving you with less scraping and shovelling once the storm is done.
- Level the snow piles – while snow banks can make your garden look pretty, you should avoid allowing snow to accumulate in your yard for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the bigger the pile, the longer it takes to defrost in spring and the longer it takes for that part of your garden to get wind and sun as it starts to regrow. Secondly, from a clean up operation, big snow banks tend to spread, and it won’t be long before you’re shovelling twice the amount of snow as you’re dealing with the new snowfall and the icy run off from the existing snow banks.
- Protect your vehicles – finally, you need to think about protecting your vehicles as part of your driveway snow shovelling plan. Not only does it make sense to at least cover up the windshield to help you defrost and get out of the house quicker, but covering your cars can also help avoid damage from the frigid Calgary winds. If you have the time and effort, a carport or car tent is an excellent investment as you’ll get coverage for all your vehicles as well as reducing the amount of driveway that you need to shovel after each storm.
Post Storm Preparation
It’s a nice dream to have that you can avoid snow shovelling entirely, but in reality, you’re going to be out there cleaning up after every storm (unless you’ve signed up for our professional ice removal services!). Just like the steps you’ll take when you know a storm is coming to reduce your workload, you’ll also want to have a plan for how to manage the snow once it’s on the ground.
The key play here is to plan on lots of smaller clear ups rather than waiting for the entire storm to be over before you start your snow removal in Calgary. Once you know the rough timing of the storm and how many centimetres are likely to fall each hour, you can map out when you want to go out and clear the driveways and sidewalks. Yes, this will mean that you’re out in the snowstorm, but fresh snow is considerably lighter and easier to move around than snow that has had the opportunity to stick together and freeze to hard surfaces. Be sure to spread the snow as evenly as possible, and if you’re making new snow banks, put them in places that usually get plenty of sun (or where you don’t mind having snow in the spring!).
Playing Catch Up
Of course, it’s not always possible to be proactive with Calgary snowfalls. There are those times when the amount of snow is way more than the weather forecasts predicted, and there’s also the possibility of a cold rain shower turning to ice unexpectedly in the middle of the night. At that point, you’re playing catch up with your snow removal in Calgary.
It’s important to react quickly to these unexpected events (or when you’ve just let snow removal get away from you). You’ll need a variety of tools, including an ice breaker for your sidewalk snow removal, and a hard handled shovel that will allow you to break up heavy clumps of snow. You’ll want some ice melt for your driveway that will help reduce the amount of ice bashing and cracking that you’ll need to do. It’s clear to see however, that it’s always worth staying ahead of the snowstorms throughout the winter
Getting Professional Help
If you’ve let the snow build up one too many times, or you just don’t have the time to keep your property ready for the next snowfall, it’s time to get some professional help. Here at Scoop Cut N Shovel, we have a range of worry free snow removal options to take the stress out of your winter.
Each of our subscription packages last for 6 months (which always feels depressing when you book our services in summer!) and entitles you to daily snow clearings and sidewalks ice removal services. The amount you pay will depend on the size of your driveway and the amount of sidewalk you want us to clear. If you’re not sure, just give us a call and we’ll give you an idea. Finally, to save even more money, bundle the best snow removal Calgary has to offer with our other year round property maintenance services, including spring and fall cleanups, dog waste removal and summer lawn maintenance.