Anti-Icing Could be the Key to a Safer, Less Costly New Hampshire Winter
Winters in New Hampshire typically mean a lot of fun winter activities. If you are an avid skier, like to snowboard, tube, or ice skate, winter is the season for you. But winter can also bring mounds of snow and layers of ice, which can create hazardous conditions for parking lots and sidewalks. At Alliance Landscaping, we offer commercial snow plowing and ice removal services, including the use of ice melters, that can prove a powerful winter weapon for your business or organization.
Anti-Icing Used As the First Method In a Series of Steps
Applying anti-icing materials on the ground prior to the start of freezing precipitation prevents the formation of bonded ice on the pavement. This can be particularly useful on sidewalks, steps, and parking lots, which can become slick and hazardous. Ice-melting materials react with snow and ice to form a liquid solution that helps to loosen the ice. This makes it much easier to plow or shovel. By preventing ice bonding on the snow or road, fewer chemicals are needed, and faster melting will occur. Ice-melting materials make a great first choice when used in a series of steps before a winter storm.
Knowing Which Ice Melting Materials Work Best in What Conditions
There are a variety of ice melters on the market including, solarized salt, rock salt, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, urea, and triple melts and blends. When choosing a product, it’s important to know that each ice melt variety has its own unique melting temperature and affects concrete and vegetation differently. Because of this, the product must be chosen geared toward one’s specific weather conditions and temperatures.
While we utilize the newest and most effective anti-icing techniques, our technicians are trained and highly knowledgeable on the proper techniques and appropriate amounts to apply.
What Are the Benefits of Using Anti-Icing Materials
The benefits of using proper anti-icing materials are endless. Pretreating surfaces with ice-melting materials before a storm arrives can increase winter safety, lower the cost of your snow removal services, and reduce the potential for impact on your property and the environment. Let’s discuss each of these in more detail.
Increased Safety
Anti-icing can reduce the risk of accidents that occur in your parking lot, driveway, and sidewalks. The last thing any commercial property needs is a lawsuit. Add on the stigma associated with an accident occurring on the property, and you won’t just have the costs of a legal suit, but the costs of losing customers due to poor reviews.
Labor and Cost Savings
Before a storm, utilizing ice-melting materials can often eliminate the need to remove light accumulations and make the removal of heavy snow easier and faster. The residual ice-melting effect of these treatments can also reduce the need for anti-icing applications after plowing. This provides significant labor and cost-savings we can then pass along to you.
What About the Environmental Impact?
At Alliance Landscaping, we care about the environment and ensure that all chemicals we use are safe. Studies have also shown that when safe and sustainable snow removal practices are implemented, the impact of anti-icing materials on the environment and vegetation is manageable. There are many different deicers on the market. At Alliance, we stay up to date on all of the latest industry practices, regulations and evaluate each property to determine the best outcome and solutions. In doing so, we also consider the safest, most effective methods and their impact on the environment, pets, and humans. Our anti-icing practices will not harm your trees, shrubs, or valuable landscape or garden.
Now is the Perfect Time to Prune and Trim Your Tree and Shrubbery
Speaking of trees and shrubs, here in New Hampshire, January is the perfect time to think about trimming and pruning your trees. By cutting away dead, overgrown, and unhealthy branches you are promoting fast and healthy growth in the spring. Proper winter pruning is a practice that benefits your trees and shrubs and enhances the health and appearance of your landscape. There are many benefits to pruning and trimming your trees in winter. Let’s take a look at a few.
Dormancy
The number one reason to prune your trees and shrubs in the winter is dormancy. During the winter, your beloved ornamentals are inactive. Pruning them while they are inactive puts less stress on the tree. They will have more time to heal, and their branches will be better prepared to grow in the spring.
Secondly, due to the lack of leaves on the trees during this time, the dead and diseased branches are more visible. This makes them much easier to spot and remove.
New Growth is Promoted
By removing overgrown, dead, and diseased branches, you promote new, healthy, and beneficial growth. Instead of the wayward, broken, and hanging branches weighing down and adding stress on your trees and shrubs, remove them and improve the overall health and structure of your trees and shrubs. And it will be more aesthetically pleasing!
Disease and Pest Prevention
Anthracnose, ash yellows, and Pine canker are just a few of the diseases that can wreak havoc on your New Hampshire trees and shrubs. Winter pruning is one of the best ways to prevent these diseases. As mentioned earlier, not only will these diseases be easier to spot (now that the trees and shrubs are dormant), but also, once spotted and pruned, any possibility of the disease spreading is halted.
Safety for You and Your Surroundings
Often, when the weight of snow or wind is too much to bear, a tree’s branches or limbs will fall or break off. Winter pruning removes the dangers that unhealthy branches can bring. As a result, your home, family, cars, garage, and you, are all much safer from these potential hazards.
Contact the Professionals at Alliance Landscaping
Alliance Landscaping offers tree pruning services and can help you trim away any dead, overgrown or unhealthy vegetation today. We also offer a 7-step Tree and Shrub Care Program that offers proactive protection and maintenance of your large plantings. Contact us now at 603-704-4230 to learn how our program can help maintain and protect the life of your beloved lawn ornaments.
Also, give us a call to find out more about our snow and ice removal services. Then check out our blog postings for more handy tips and information. Want to know about our latest specials? Follow us on Facebook or Twitter, and Instagram.