Below Zero Temps and Ice Management

Minnesota’s winters can be brutal. A snow plowing and ice management plan is key to a safe property for your tenants and customers.

With this morning’s -20 degree air temperature, it would be a good time to discuss our approach to ice management for our retail and commercial customers.

Ice management starts with monitoring the weather daily and some cases hourly during the winter. Our team is ready and mobile 24/7 to help with snow and ice management on our retail and commercial properties. There are several approaches to getting to the blacktop after a storm.

When choosing our product for ice management, temperature plays a major role in that choice. Untreated salt (white salt) becomes less effective as the temperature drops. At 20^oF, one pound of untreated salt will melt nine pounds of ice. And at +1^oF, one pound of untreated salt will melt only four pounds of ice. Untreated salt lowers the freezing point of water to 15^oF and is likely to cause re-freeze conditions overnight.

Unlike weed control measures during the summer, there is no industry standard when it comes to using chloride treated salt. Chloride treated salt speeds up the melting process and is significantly more effective as the temperatures plummet. Generally speaking, common practice among snow removal companies will begin using treated salt when temperatures fall below 10^oF.

I hope I have shed some light on how we approach ice management on your property. The number one preventative measure to ice buildup on a property is to clear the snow as soon as possible and treat with salt. Many companies only offer 2 inch service, the issue with this is when you have two 1 inch snowfalls in one week without a melting period in between. Sno-Mow Services only offers a 1 inch trigger for all properties including residential homes. If you would like a quote for your property please feel free to contact us.