Top Reasons to Hire a Pro for Home Snow Removal

Imagine having a visit with your doctor, and she is poking around your back. Ack! THAT hurt, didn’t it? Such a little poke to cause so much pain. Then, you hear the wheels of the little doctor stool scoot around till she is once again facing you, and she’s giving you her stern face. You know what that means.

You were shoveling snow, weren’t you? Yes, and a back spasm is one of the more minor injuries when someone shovels snow. However, severe injuries are common, especially among older adults, even if the shoveler is very careful and takes lots of rest.

Your Pros Know Snow 

You have alternatives to shoveling snow but didn’t take them. Now, of course, you will be serious about it. Do we need a list of what can happen when we shovel snow ourselves?

• Back injuries and pain
• Blisters on the hands, even under gloves and mittens. Not to mention if the blister bursts and the resulting fluids stick to the gloves and mittens.
• Difficulty breathing in the frigid air
• Chest pains. There are so many types of chest pains, and they can all be caused by shoveling snow. Some severe pains can lead to hospitalization or worse.

So, no shoveling. Were you thinking of buying snow removal equipment? Snowplows cost big bucks, even if you’re adding a plow to other groundskeeping attachments for a tractor. Snowblowers are costly, too, and noisy, and paths and sidewalks still need attention after the snowblower finishes.

It’s Kansas, though. How much snow could there be? A lot. Remember, Kansas is in the middle of sweeping plains, and the wind is a fact of life, no matter what season it is. Wind and snow can be a little quirky and result in the snow achieving fantastical towers, drifts, and wide wrinkles of snow. Having a small snowdrift against your back door is a minor thing, but what about the snow cliff that formed against your garage door overnight? Will you even be able to open the garage?

It sounds like you’re ready to think about professional snow removal services. But, wait! You already have the services of Divine Lawns for your landscaping during the growing seasons for grass and flowers, and bedding. They take care of almost all of your green needs. But do they take care of snow removal as well? Indeed they do!

Snow Removal is no joke!

Let’s think about the pros and cons of home snow removal by professionals.

• Paved driveways will be plowed after every heavy snowfall. 
• Snow will be removed to a space where it’s not blocking the driveway or street but won’t impact the health of your lawn. 
• Paths and sidewalks will be bared, with no slippery snow and ice to confuse the feet. Removed snow will be relocated to an area that won’t hurt lawns or bedding plants.
• Community laws about snow removal can be confusing, but Divine is used to functioning within those laws.

Deicers can be a little mysterious to the casual user. Most of us think of scattering handfuls of rock salt around to melt ice and snow on the driveway or walk. And, indeed, a lot of deicers have some element of salt, as it can melt almost any ice. As the ice melts, so does the salt, right? And what happens to that salty melted ice and snow? It either melts into the ground or runs down the pavement to the street, absorbed by the storm drains.

Saltwater is usually bad for lawns and plants. The snow melted by salt will have the effect of salting the soil beneath if you’re unlucky enough to get it too close to the grass. Professional snow removal will know how close to the lawn and plants the salt can land without damaging the growth. Professionals assure that deicers are used where appropriate and in amounts that won’t injure your lawns and flowers once the snow melts.

Melting, Melting…

And let’s not forget the damage salt can do to the metal parts of cars, especially in the underneath parts of the cars that are mostly unseen. Remember that rusted-out hulk of a pick-up your best friend had in high school? A lot of that rust was probably due to salt damage.

What about sand? Well, what about sand? It doesn’t melt the ice, and it gives you a little traction when walking on ice. If you’re stuck in the snow, it’s a good tool for giving the back tires some traction. Mixed with salt, it can melt ice and provide traction. But again, the salt can cause damage to plants and grasses as the ice melts.

When the ice and snowmelt, where does that runoff go? If it’s headed toward the storm drains of your community, there are probably laws in place about what can be routed to the storm drains. Some of those drains lead to open water where fish and fowl live. Some chemicals will damage them.

Friends visit. One falls on the icy walk and can’t seem to move comfortably. You convince your visitor to lay still till an ambulance can get there and later hear that there’s a broken bone in the hip or ankle or a sprain that will keep them in a chair for two weeks or more. Your homeowner’s insurance will probably pay a large percentage of the actual expenses. Still, you might also be legally liable for lost wages, the part of the medical expenses insurance doesn’t cover, and for other unforeseen expenses. Are you prepared? Having professionals do your snow removal means they are fully insured for any injury on one of their jobs.

No matter where you live or how often it snows, snow removal by hand and shovel are not for the faint of heart. However, professional snow removal will remove one of our biggest worries when the weather turns frigid.