It’s vital to prepare your driveway for winter! When the snow and cold hit, you should be prepared to deal with them to prevent costly damages. Investing hefty money in repairing and replacing the driveway every year isn’t practically viable. It’s better to practice these essential driveway maintenance tips to keep your driveway in good condition.
Don’t Let Snow Sit
Winters are here, and so is the season of heavy snow. If you let snow accumulate on your driveway, an ice layer will form at the bottom. The layer gets thicker, stronger, and deeper as the snowfall continues. This damages the driveway and causes safety risks. So, it’s better to prevent snow from collecting on the driveway. Shovel snow regularly, and if possible, after every snowfall, to eliminate the risk.
Just make sure to shovel with care. The driveway may become damaged or cracked if you use a heavy shovel, especially if you are still assessing the snow’s depth. A plastic shovel is preferable if you need to know how thick the snow is, as it won’t harm the surface.
Seal Your Driveway
This is another crucial driveway maintenance tip to practice. Sealing your driveway gravel during the autumn to prepare for winter would be best. The sealant will prevent water from reaching underneath your driveway, helping you keep it damage-free and stable. If you are struggling to seal it yourself, you can hire experts to help you with this case.
Clean Leaves and Debris
Don’t wait for weekends or a month to pass to clean your driveway. Make it a habit to sweep the debris off your driveway a few times per week. And if the weather gets bad and your driveway begins to accumulate a lot of leaves and other debris, clean it every day.
Though smaller debris doesn’t damage your drive, it can reach the bottom of the driveway and start collecting there. Your driveway may lose its appeal and might require repairing in the future.
Repair and Fix Driveway
If there are any potholes in your driveway, you need to fix them as soon as possible. Repairing it will prevent damage to your driveway pavement. Whether you have a pathway made from golden gravel, limestone chippings, self-binding path gravel, or others, fixing it is essential. Fixing the issue as soon as possible helps ensure a healthy driveway surface for multiple winter seasons.
Avoid Applying Salt
Salt can adversely affect the concrete driveway and cause potholes or other damages. You can use a deicer, but you must consider a few things mentioned below to ensure you use it correctly.
- Pooling water on the surface
- Environmental effects
- Selecting the right deicer mix
The runoff water containing salt impacts wildlife, plants, and local waterways. Prevent this issue using a chemical-free dicer mix with few environmental effects. Also, if you don’t want to damage your concrete driveway, use sand as an alternative to the deicer. It will help you remove ice without causing any significant problems.
Bottom Line
So, now you know driveway maintenance tips and start practising them! If you need any driveway aggregates to fix the issues, you can check out Brisks to get quality products.