QHave you ever slipped on a piece of ice while quietly leaving your home? To prevent this from happening again, here are four simple, natural and effective tips that you can apply once the next frost comes.
Snow removal: false good ideas
Salty
The most common trick is road salt. Sodium chloride lowers the temperature and prevents the water from hardening. But this solution is not the best because it has a negative impact on the fauna and flora.
Salting reduces plant growth (hence the importance of not salting around plants in the garden), permanently contaminates the soil and alters the chemical and biological composition of aquatic environments. So if it is possible, it is better to do without. [1]
Hot water
Your driveway is covered in a thick white coat and you absolutely must start your car? In precipitation, the (common) mistake would be to throw hot water on the snow to melt it. But just like defrosting a windshield, it’s a very bad idea because the snow instantly turns to ice. So we forget!
And if you’re interested, we offer you 3 natural tips for defrosting your windscreen without chemicals and a practical article about the risks you run by driving with a badly defrosted windscreen.
Snow removal: tips tested and approved
the shovel
First essential step for effective snow removal: scrape the snow with a shovel. Goal ? Prevent your driveway from becoming a real skating rink. Once this is done, all you need to do is spread a natural anti-slip to prevent icing.
wood chips
This surprising technique comes to us from Switzerland. Residents are used to clearing their driveways in the winter and have found a more environmentally friendly way to melt snow and ice: wood chips. One company has even launched an environmentally friendly anti-slip made from wood chips and magnesium chloride: Stop Gliss Bio.
the coffee grounds
Granted, the coffee grounds won’t melt the snow, but it will prevent slipping (which isn’t a bad thing). Indeed, this residue absorbs sunlight before being shed, causing the ice to melt. And if you’re interested, here are 4 practical ideas for recycling coffee grounds and putting them to good use in the vegetable garden.
wood ash
Did you know that wood ash is also effective for clearing snow in front of your house? This combustion residue has the power to accelerate the melting of frost, sleet and snow. The good news is that this is a zero-waste, inexpensive, and eco-friendly trick. To take it one step further, learn how to reuse hair bags this winter.
Did you like this article? Here are 5 effective tips to keep your cold feet warm in winter.