8 Top Tips to Combat Snow, Ice & Freezing Temperatures

During the winter months, the weather can change in the blink of an eye. With the worst of the freezing temperatures still to come, January is a great time to double check your winter checklist. Have you done everything possible to winter-proof your home and surrounding areas?

January marks the middle of the winter season. We’ve had the shortest day and keeping an eye on how they’re beginning to lengthen, by a couple of minutes a day.

Winter can be beautiful. Think of those cold, crisp morning strolls, where you can see your own breath. Then there’s the other side. The side that brings the worst of the wet or snowy, cold and icy conditions.

Freezing temperatures bring the potential for dangerous slip hazards. Some can get up and carry on after a fall. For others, it can put them out of action for a while.

With home working still in place, when the mercury dips, and freezing temperatures strike, the need to clear car windscreens with an ice scraper is reduced (for some). Many of us still need to get the kids off to school safely. And, while the worst of winter’s freezing temperatures are still to come, you do need to think about winter-proofing your home.

Freezing Temperatures – Self Care

Overworked doctors and emergency wards means getting an appointment is harder than ever. So, we all have to do what we can to help ourselves. Getting ready and winter-proofing your home and surrounding areas will improve the safety for you and your loved ones.

When it snows or a hard frost sets in, drives and pathways can become like ice rinks. This is a major concern and exactly why winter-proofing your home is a great idea.

A winter care kit brings you a snow shovel, de-icing salt and applicator, helping you clear your walkways and keep them safe.

Ice Risks – Slip Hazards in Freezing Temperatures Around The Home

In the freezing winter, avoid personal injury or an unplanned rendition of Torvill and Dean’s 1981 Bolero, with regular applications of de-icing salt on your drives, pathways and steps with a Twist & Thaw Salt Spreader.

White de-icing salt is better to use around your home than the brown grit, used on roads. It’s a superb de-icer, which means your much less likely to slip wherever you apply it. It’s great to stop ice forming on heavy traffic areas, like driveways and pathways leading to your front door and around to side access areas.

As white de-icing salt is lighter than the traditional grit, used on roads, it’s not as likely to stick in your shoe treads, so you’re much less likely to walk it back into your home. De-icing salt also works to help stop snow settling on hard surfaces.

Top tip: make sure you use your snow shovel to clear the worst of the snow before applying de-icing salt.

Top tip: The Twist and Thaw spreaders are easy to wash out and use in summer too. They employ a simple disc to open the apertures in the base and are commonly used to spread grass seed in spring to give an even application, no matter the seed or aggregate.

British Weather is Unpredictable – Snowfall

In the UK, we’re all aware that snow can strike at any point, even as late as May. It causes no-end of disruption. As we have snow so infrequently, it’s a tough condition to plan for. That said, when it does snow, it’s always better to be in a position where you can quickly clear it, and is exactly why having a snow shovel on hand is an essential winter item.

To make things really easy, this Winter Care Kit (snow shovel, de-icing salt, twist and thaw spreader and ice scraper) brings you everything you’ll need to keep most homes accessible this winter.

The winter care kit is small enough to easily store, allowing you to quickly grab it, when it unexpectedly snow’s overnight. The snow shovel is strong and quickly moves large volumes of snow and the de-icing salt helps to keep pathways clear. No one wants the delivery driver (or elderly parents) slipping on their conscience.

Winter Garden Protection

Frozen garden taps are another bugbear for homeowners alike. One of the best ways to prevent this unpopular winter occurrence is to use an
Insulating Outside Tap Cover.

8 Cold Weather Tips For Freezing Temperatures

By the time winter arrives, you should be ready. However, if you’re not it’s never too late to get ready for the cold weather.

When the snow strikes it’ll be too late. You need a snow shovel, ready to clear the paths. If nothing else, it’ll allow your delivery driver to safely make it to your front door. Even if you’re reading this when the likelihood of snow is low, there’s always next year, this is the UK after all. It’s never usually that warm.

The following eight tips and tricks will help prevent any unfortunate winter mishaps or water damage.

1. Turn outside garden taps off. Water left in outside taps can freeze. Frozen water expands, this can cause the pipes to burst. To avoid this issue, disconnect your garden hose and drain the remaining water then fit an insulated tap cover.
2. Clean out your gutters. It’s important that you keep your eaves debris free and your gutters free from leaves, dirt and sticks. Clogged gutters prevent the draining of rain and melting snow which could result in water damage to your home. Rolson Downpipe Gutter Guards are perfect for keeping your gutters free from gutter clutter.
3. Have your boiler serviced. A routine service by a registered engineer each autumn helps to ensure your boiler runs smoothly and efficiently over the cold of winter. If you have an older thermostat, consider replacing it with one you can move and program to save money on heating costs.
4. Inspect windows and doors for leaks. Prevent heat loss by making sure your windows and doors are properly sealed. Check the weather-stripping around windows and door frames, and replace where necessary. Check for drafts and caulk both inside and out where necessary.
5. Compost any fallen leaves and remove from pathways to prevent slip hazards. Wet leaves can be a real slip-hazard. A leaf blower makes life simple for moving large volumes of leaves. You’ll still need to collect them in piles with a lawn rake or stiff broom to make them quicker to remove with leaf grabbers.
6. Inspect the roof. While you’re cleaning your eaves, inspect the roof for any missing, loose or damaged tiles or shingles. If your roof needs attention call a roofer to help you with the repairs or maintenance. If you see any issues have a look from the inside of the loft and while you’re up there, check your loft insulation.
7. Trim your bushes and trees. Using an electric or petrol hedge trimmer will make your life really simple, if not, traditional garden shears and secateurs work just as well – it also doubles up as a workout. Save yourself any trouble when the wind gets up by trimming back overgrown bushes or trees, away from your house and electrical wires.
8. Buy a winter care kit. A winter care kit will give you the essentials to keep your home accessible for when the worst of the winter weather strikes. The Future Garden winter care kits gives you:

• De-icing salt
• Twist and that shaker (salt applicator)
• Snow shovel (red or black)
• Ice Scraper to use on your car windscreen

Conclusions

In conclusion, it really is worth taking the time to get your home winter-ready. Reducing slip-hazards helps to avoid anyone hurting themselves.

The threat of snow and ice is never that far away in the UK. Now is a great time to stock up on those winter essentials too including salt and a snow shovel. It won’t go to waste. You’re sure to need them before too long.