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Advanced de-icing: Skip the salt

Posted on January 13th, 2010
by John Kirchner

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Our blogging friends at the home-improvement site Charles & Hudson offer a constant stream of great advice for home owners. For example, take the pile of tips you’ll find in the “build it yourself” category. Or, to be more direct, just check out the archive of tips.

Considering the time of year and the nationwide cold snap we’re collectively facing, we thought it’d be good to revisit a rather timely post: one full of tips on how to melt snow and ice without damaging your walkways. And of course, by melting snow and ice, you’re also avoiding damaging your head, knees, wrists, elbows and rears.

The tips include:

  • installing a somewhat textured walkway,
  • installing thermal heat elements underneath the path
  • using a thermal heated walkway such as HeatTrak, or
  • simply focus on reducing the slip danger

“Use sand or kitty litter,” C&H writes. “It won’t melt the ice but it will increase the coefficient of friction” — and increasing the safety of your family and your guests.

On the same topic, you can find more tips here.

Photo courtesy of LisaW123 via Flickr



Related reading:

  • Let It Snow!
  • Igloo Windows
  • Case Study: Old Faithful Snow Lodge
  • Winter Prep: Your Home’s Exterior

Posted in Household |

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