Snow Removal Tips, Guides & How To's

The plow goes by at six in the morning and leaves a ridge of packed, wet snow across the foot of your driveway. That ridge, not the eight inches sitting on the flat, is what decides whether the machine in your garage is enough.

Sizing one is the first decision. A single-stage machine clears light snow off pavement and chokes on that berm. Two-stage units throw heavy, wet snow and handle gravel drives. Three-stage adds an accelerator for deep drifts on a long run. The power question splits it again: gas for range and grunt, corded electric for a short city driveway, cordless when you want the middle ground without fuel or a pull start. Battery shovels suit steps and decks, a tractor attachment earns its keep only if the tractor is already out back, and shopping well before the first storm beats shopping during it.

Plenty of storms never need a machine at all. Salt and a few ice tricks handle a light coat, and a driveway can be cleared without touching a shovel. Keep a real brush in the car, and pull the snow load off the roof edge with a rake before it packs into an ice dam. The rest is habit: throw with the wind, overlap your passes, and clear early instead of waiting out the whole storm.