Winter rolls in quickly, and suddenly many people and businesses find themselves underprepared for the storms, the numerous inches of snow, and the sheets of ice after freezing rain. Yet, it happens every single year.
What makes snow such a difficult monster to monitor and handle?
Snow is not the same year after year.
Some years it snows in November, while other years it does not snow until January or February. Preparedness is key when combating the unknowns of the winter season. It is difficult to prepare, which is why our experts are here to help. We manage large fleets of vehicles equipped to remove snow and deice commercial parking lots. We stock up on tons of liquid and granular deicing agents and store them at our landscape yards. We monitor the weather to ensure that snow services occur in the timeliest fashion. We manage team schedules for snow removal care so snow services can continue without end if necessary. We also provide anti-icing services in which we put down material on sidewalks and parking lots that prevent the emergence of ice.
What’s the deal with snow removal, what makes it so challenging?
Snow removal is neither a cheap infrastructure nor a talentless task.
The cost of commercial snowplow attachments starts at $5,000 which does not include the cost of the truck itself. In addition, snowplows on smaller pick-up trucks are likely to damage the vehicle’s suspension, so not just any truck should be used to plow. Snowplow attachments are heavy on their own, but the weight of the snow must also be considered.
Snowplowing is performed in the winter when temperatures are dropping from day to night. This requires more frequent breaks, more effort from crews, and more workers interested in high-labor seasonal jobs. Not to mention, nobody can estimate with any accuracy how much it will snow when it will snow, and if and when everything will ice over. In this way, we make sure to prepare with ample supplies knowing it will likely not all be used for the season. It can turn into a nasty situation if you try to handle it by yourself without knowing what a snow season could bring. Imagine not having all the materials you need after freezing rain and deicer being sold out everywhere because you didn’t want to overspend on materials. You may then have to hire an emergency ice removal team for a hefty sum.
More than that, snow plowing is not as simple as hand shoveling. To snowplow, crews must have more intensive training on how to use the equipment. If you’ve seen sidewalk damage on your way into a store after a huge snowstorm, this could be the snow crew at fault. At MSNW, when a company hires us for their snow removal services, we make sure to analyze parking lots for anything that could be damaged before the winter season hits, so we have maps that tell us where and where not to plow. It is always our goal to protect the properties we operate on and with a more knowledgeable team, it’s more likely damage will be minimized.
What’s the difference between anti-icing and deicing?
Anti-icing is ice prevention and deicing is ice removal.
Many of MSNW’s clients implement our anti-icing services to prevent parking lots from icing over before the snow and freezing rain. While it’s not a perfect solution, it does provide safer conditions for drivers and pedestrians. Parking lots can be difficult to manage due to cars driving over the top of snow and creating a perfectly dense condition for the development of ice. Anti-icing can prevent that from occurring and many of our clients have found success with anti-icing in keeping lots and sidewalks clear before the occurrence of a snowstorm.
Deicing is reactive rather than proactive. At MSNW, we also utilize deicing material to break down ice and snow already formed. It is effective and with our liquid-deicing-rigged trucks, we can quickly put down a layer.
Want to learn more about our winter services and get on our client list?
Call our office and “we’ll take care of it!”: 360.366.4600