For children, snowfall only brings wonder, excitement, and the tantalizing possibility that there might be a day off school. For adults however, snow can mean slippery roads and engaging in the arduous chore of snow shoveling. While a professional snow removal service can eliminate this tiresome task, if you’re committed to DIYing it, Lehnhoff’s Landscaping is here with a few tips to make sure you get the job done quickly and safely.
Conduct Basic Prep
Your chief concern when shoveling snow should be safety. Before you begin shoveling you should stretch your muscles in order to avoid injury and put on warm clothing. Make sure to take breaks because continuous snow shoveling can often pose health risks and always wax your shovel blade using floor wax or vegetable oil spray.
Safety Tips
In order to keep yourself safe while snow shoveling it’s important to follow proper safety precautions. When shoveling be sure to:
- Lift with your legs, not your back. Remember to bend at the knee.
- Keep the shovel blade close to you when lifting snow; this reduces the strain on your back.
- Alternate leading with your left and right hands to mitigate muscle strain.
- If the snowfall is thicker than a few inches, don’t try to clear all the way to the ground in a single shovel, which could cause you to strain your back. Instead, gradually remove layers of snow.
If You Own a Driveway
Approach clearing your driveway of snow methodically. To excavate a snowed in vehicle, start by clearing a route to the driver’s side door. Start your car’s engine and crank up the heat while turning on all available defrosters, then start clearing off the car. The heat from the interior will make removing the snow outside it much easier.
Plan
If you want to get the job done efficiently, you need to approach shoveling snow with a plan. Begin by cleaning off your car, then taking care of the driveway around it. You don’t want to do the reverse, because then you’ll have to shovel the snow that falls off your car twice. Avoid shoveling the area where the street meets your driveway until you have to pull out. Passing snowplows will push snow up against this periodically so it’s best to wait until you’re ready to leave.
That’s not all…
Surprisingly, there’s a lot more to snow shoveling than meets the eye. If you want to have this laborious process taken care of for you, consider hiring a professional landscaping and snow removal service like Lehnhoff’s Landscaping. We provide professional snow removal and landscaping services for all of Maryland. Our teams of snow removal experts manage everything from plowing, to shoveling, to ice scraping. We have years and years of experience in removing snow from parking lots, roads, sidewalks, as well as salting and ice melting.
Our snow removal plans and planting services will ensure that no matter what time of year it is, your property will be stunning and safe. If you have any more questions about snow removal in Baltimore, contact Lehnhoff’s Landscaping by Calling 443.921.5789 or visit LehnoffsLandscaping.com today!
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