Snow/Ice/Winter preparedness.

[Panacea]

last year it was ice, we had to go to 5 stores in one night to find salt for our laneway. I put so much ice in front of our house grass actually wouldn't grow during spring the following season

Use kitty litter next year, the clay type not the silicon or clumping varieties. That's what I'm going to use this year.

The salt melts the ice. Kittie litter doesn't but does give you traction on the ice.

[sophie]

The salt melts the ice. Kittie litter doesn't but does give you traction on the ice.

It's also a good idea to carry a box of it in your car incase you or someone else gets stuck. I'm always suprised by how many people don't have emergency kits in their cars.

[Kuari]

Kuari might be referring to the very cheap variety which use Sterno fuel, which is denatured alcohol.

Got it in one

I already have a mini denatured alcohol table top fireplace that I used last year to keep my bedroom above freezing. Even having a single burner Sterno-fueled stove will be better than nothing at all. Hell, I've used an old Sterno-fueled fondu pot set up to make soup in the past, but when I moved across the country that was one of things that did not make the trip with me.

[wolfie]

last year it was ice, we had to go to 5 stores in one night to find salt for our laneway. I put so much ice in front of our house grass actually wouldn't grow during spring the following season

One thing I'm surprised the chemical companies don't do: find a variety of fertilizer (doesn't have to be the best NKP mix for lawns or flowers, just be something that needs a significantly higher concentration than salt to kill plants) which gives off heat when it dissolves (34-0-0 is out because it absorbs heat, 21-0-0 is out because sulphates damage concrete) and market it as "plant-friendly ice melter"

Use kitty litter next year, the clay type not the silicon or clumping varieties. That's what I'm going to use this year.

It's also a good idea to carry a box of it in your car incase you or someone else gets stuck. I'm always suprised by how many people don't have emergency kits in their cars.

A box or bag of it is a bad idea - once it's opened, it's subject to spilling. Save your old washer fluid jugs, and dispense the stuff into them. They're recloseable, so no spills. You can even get funnels (rectangular ones sold as oil funnels that you can put the open bottle into) that have a large-bore neck and fit into a washer fluid jug. I've seen them at Princess Auto, Canadian Tire, and WalMart.

[otakuneko]

Texan here. We get one, maybe two icing events usually every winter or every other winter.

Yankees may laugh at us when we panic and CLOSE DOWN EVERYTHING and all, but we get the last laugh come summertime. Honestly we really ought to have better preparedness for ice, and by that I mean be more on the ball with the sanding/"salting" of roads! DFW isn't New York--we don't walk anywhere, we drive.

Last year's storm did knock out power to some parts of the metroplex. Fortunately, I wasn't among them. I also have a gas stove--if nothing else, I could light the burner with a match.

[Panacea]

It's also a good idea to carry a box of it in your car incase you or someone else gets stuck. I'm always suprised by how many people don't have emergency kits in their cars.

When I lived in North Dakota it was required by law. If you got pulled over, the cops could ask to see your kit and if you didn't have it you got a ticket.

[eltf177]

Northern VA. Around here it's the same every time the weather people mention the words "snow" or "ice": absolute panic.

The grocery stores are mobbed and the following disappear instantly:

1) Bread
2) Eggs
3) Bottled Water
4) Milk
5) Toilet Paper
6) Salt Melt, then Kitty Litter when that's gone

And every year there's a run on snow shovels. What do you people do, throw them away in the Spring?

Drives me nuts...

[HYHYBT]

Cat litter often comes in plastic containers with screw-on tops. These would be better than trying to get it in and out of a bottle through a narrow opening.

[DGoddess]

Northern VA. Around here it's the same every time the weather people mention the words "snow" or "ice": absolute panic.

The grocery stores are mobbed and the following disappear instantly:

1) Bread
2) Eggs
3) Bottled Water
4) Milk
5) Toilet Paper
6) Salt Melt, then Kitty Litter when that's gone

And every year there's a run on snow shovels. What do you people do, throw them away in the Spring?

Drives me nuts...

I've often wondered that (I'm in central North Carolina.) The news crews will interrupt regular programming and cover the winter weather event NON-STOP and have folks camped out at either the interstates, some of the worst intersections (in good weather) in Greensboro, High Point and Winston Salem or somebody at the Blowes Home Improvement talking about the run on snow shovels.

I've often wondered what happens to all these snow shovels in the spring? Do they melt away? Do they grow legs and travel north to Canada or Nunavut? WTF goes on with them? You would think every man, woman and child in Greensboro would have at least 2 snow shovels apiece by now as many as are sold each winter whenever there's enough snow forecasted to make a FOOTPRINT.

And if you lose your power? WHY do you want a freezer full of pizzas and Lean Cuisines? I can recall back about 15 years ago working at the Cone WD and we'd literally have to physically rope off the entire freezer aisle (looping twine around the handles of freezer doors down the entire row) to keep them shut so folks wouldn't keep opening them. Cover up the coffin cases that ran down the middle of the aisle on either side and still people would try to dig through and get their frozen goodies. Bad enough we'd lose power at the shopping center but our generator didn't power the compressors for the refrigeration - only registers, main office computer and emergency lights.

People are just nuts around here, I tell you. And another phenomenon I've noticed: they call out of work because the roads have a few flakes of snow but they come out in droves to the grocery store. And my store is at the bottom of a hole - both entrances are UPHILL. Much amusement when we have these big SUV's that keep sliding down the hill trying to get to the main road.

[Kuari]

Where I am it is common to have your snow shovel break...usually right before the worst storm of the season :/ Thankfully I don't have to buy a snow shovel anymore because my landlord supplies one for us each year so that if we need to get out before he can get around to shovel for us we aren't stuck. And given that I live on a very steep hill where the sidewalk actually has stairs built in and a handrail it's pretty important to have a safe surface (relatively speaking) to walk on. However, there has been more than a few times I have dug out my hiking sticks and put the snow spear tips on them to help me along....

[Andara Bledin]

Yeah, I was one of them. I froze my ass off. I have gas heat . . . with an electric starter.

Late to the party, but I was just thinking about my own heater. All you need is to know where the pilot light is, and have a stove lighter handy. Since all the electric does is engage the pilot, you just need to know where to add the flame. Of course, you will want to do this with two people so that you have the flame engaged before you open the gas. However, if you have a wired thermostat, it won't matter; but if it's battery operated (ours is), then you should be fine.

But this is just one of many, many reasons why I have absolute zero interest in an electric stove.

Use kitty litter next year, the clay type not the silicon or clumping varieties. That's what I'm going to use this year.

The salt melts the ice. Kittie litter doesn't but does give you traction on the ice.

It's also worth noting that kitty litter won't lead to rusting undercarriages.

I live in southern California, though, so the worst I have to deal with over the winter is (hopefully) lots of wet. The power rarely flickers, we don't get scary storms, and freezes are few and far between.

[eltf177]

Where I am it is common to have your snow shovel break...usually right before the worst storm of the season.

My snow shovel has a metal shaft, I've had it for about 25 years now. The metal edge along the face of the shovel itself is long gone and the plastic is starting to wear away but it's still quite usable. The screw holding the head on the shaft is rusting so it's going to need replacement soon but I expect to be able to use the new one for a decade or more, not just one season.

[Gilhelmi]

I am a prepper (not overboard, only about a month of dry food/water)

Bagged Ice is good, because the water is clean, so you can put it in drinks.
Cotton Socks are only bad if you do not change them regularly. I was taught about once every 2 hours (sooner if they get wet). Of course, that is summer numbers based on how much you sweat, so accurate winter numbers need to be gathered.

I live in a rural area, if we lost power (has not happened for more then 3 hours in years). I could go outside, dig a hole, put in some wood and have a nice Cookout.

Oh, and I have dozens of MREs that I could eat too.

[HYHYBT]

And there's your answer to the run on snow shovels. Even setting aside people who move and those who lose one somehow, they do break. From comments here, some last only a year and others over 20; say ten on average. That means every year, every tenth household is buying a snow shovel. That's a lot of people.

[protege]

And there's your answer to the run on snow shovels. Even setting aside people who move and those who lose one somehow, they do break.

Especially those cheap shovels made of plastic. Sure, they might be lighter, but they don't last as long. At least with a metal shovel, the blade usually bends. A few taps with a hammer and you're back in business