Snow may look beautiful from inside your warm, cozy living room, but it also presents an important responsibility to the homeowner. Removing snow from the walkways and sidewalks around your home is a task that you must keep on top of in order to maintain a safe area for visitors and pedestrians. While it's never the most entertaining task, it doesn't need to be a major hardship.
Preparation
If you live in an area that receives a lot of snow, prepare for the snow season by clearing all sidewalks and walkways around your home as the winter approaches. Clear any tools, hoses, rocks and debris from the sidewalks so that shoveling or snow blowing will be smoother when the snow hits. While preparing, review your responsibilities for shoveling. If you rent an apartment, refer to your lease to see what, if anything, you are responsible for shoveling. If you own a home, you'll want to keep your walkways cleared to keep them safe for the mailman, delivery man and anyone else visiting your house. You'll also want to review local codes to find out about your responsibility for shoveling the public sidewalks in front of your house.
Equipment
Another aspect of preparation is ensuring that you have the proper snow removal equipment and that it's in good working shape. Prior to the snow season, check to make sure that you have a good shovel (ideally several for getting others in on the fun). The best shovels have a metal head or at least a metal blade on the tip to provide a bit of extra bite and durability. The shovel head should be firmly secured to the handle and shouldn't wobble. A plow-style shovel that you push instead of lift is an excellent resource for small amounts of light snow, allowing you to push the snow in one direction off the walkway. If you have a snow blower, be sure to give it a test before the season, make any needed tune-ups or repairs and purchase ample fuel. Don't forget to purchase a supply of ice melt and other ice tools, such as an ice scraper--a flat, metal head on a handle used to manually break up ice. If you need to purchase any new equipment, do so well ahead of the season, as it can become more difficult to find once the snow arrives.
Snow Removal
When there is a small amount of dry, light powder (less than six inches), using a plow-style shovel is an ideal method. Simply plant the shovel on the ground and push the snow off the walkway. If the snow is too deep or heavy to effectively plow in this manner, you'll want to use a traditional snow shovel to dig in and lift the snow to the side. If you're using a snow blower, you'll merely have to adjust the chute so that it throws the snow in the appropriate direction and wheel the snow blower up and down the walkway. When purchasing a snow blower, make sure that it clears a wide enough area for your needs and works in ample snow depths for your area. Also, review the instruction manual for proper usage.
Ice
Many times there is an underlying layer of ice stuck to the walkway after you've shoveled. The easiest way to take care of a thin sheet of ice is to sprinkle some ice melt onto it. If the ice is stubborn, you can put the ice melt down, allow some time for it to break the ice up and then shovel it off. For really thick, difficult ice, you may need to break off chunks with an ice scraper and then shovel that off the walkway.
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