How to Use a Snow Blower Faster Without Freezing Your Ass
Homeowners with a driveway who live somewhere that gets a decent amount of snow every year should make the call: shovel, use a snow blower, or hire someone to clear the snow. Those who decide to buy a snow blower usually do so because it’s faster and easier than a shovel (it definitely is).
But what if we told you that there are a few things you can do to make snow removal even faster and more efficient? Well, there is. Here are some expert tips to help you finish the job faster and get back to the warm room.
Plan your route
In an ideal world (where you still have to use a snowplow for some reason) you would cover the entire pavement on your property in one pass. According to Consumer Reports home expert Eric Hado , it’s possible.
If you have space on both sides of the driveway, he recommends starting in the middle and throwing snow towards one edge of the driveway. “Do a U-turn, then return to the other side. Keep alternating, ” he tells Consumer Reports magazine . “That way you don’t have to adjust the chute as often, and any snow that doesn’t fall out gets cleared on subsequent passes.”
But if your house is adjacent to a driveway, Hadou advises starting on the side closest to your house so you don’t throw snow on the sections of your driveway that you’ve already cleared.
Start as soon as 6 inches of snow falls.
You might think it’s better to wait until the snow stops and then take the snowplow, but Family Handyman’s editors advise against this. Instead, they suggest leaving after six inches of snow has fallen. While this means you’ll likely have to shovel the snow a few times, “your machine won’t have to work as hard and it’ll throw the snow further,” they note .
Distance matters
Instead of focusing only on the sidewalk directly in front of you, pay attention to where the snow falls as you blow it off the road. According to the Family Handyman editors , there are four ways to get the maximum roll:
- Take small pieces of snow
- Run the blower at full speed but at a slower travel speed.
- Set the chute switch to the fully raised position.
- Kick in the wind
And of course, don’t forget that you are working with a machine that could potentially injure you , so keep safety in mind.