When winter weather threatens to turn your driveway into an ice rink, protecting your lawn is probably the furthest thing from your mind. But failure to take the proper precautions when deicing the driveway can result in unwanted damage to the grass and other plant life. Fortunately, keeping your landscape in optimal condition for the spring only takes a little preparation. Here at Bur-Han, we’ve come up with five easy ways for you to protect that yard when the winter deicing season arrives.
1. Don’t Start Without Proper Instruction
The dropping temperatures that bring ice leaves us wanting to reduce time spent out in the elements, which can lead to improper use of deicing agents. Take some time to read the manufacturer’s directions before bundling up and heading out to the driveway, and you’ll gain some valuable tips on proper usage. Sometimes, following directions is all it takes to have that lawn in tip-top shape when spring rolls around.
2. Cover The Plants
With shrubs and plants often situated near or along the driveway, it’s easy for salt to land on them when you’re scattering it around. Prevent this from happening by first covering those plants and shrubs with some burlap or other covering. This has the added benefit of protection against salty slush that local plows might toss in the same direction.
3. See Salt? Use A Broom
Maybe you forgot to cover the plants and shrubs, or maybe you underestimated how far the city plow would toss the road slush. Either way, if you find yourself staring at a lawn littered with road salt, there is no need to panic. While your first thought might be to grab the rake, instead reach for the broom as it is more effective at removal without damaging the landscape. Use your broom to just sweep away the unwanted winter road salt, and mark down one point for you in the war you’re waging against the winter salt.
4. Stay Away From The Lawn With The Deicing Salt
Being conscious of where you’re tossing that salt is another super easy way to keep the landscaping in pristine condition. Intended targets should be the driveway, sidewalk, and walkway that you use. Making sure you stick to those areas prevents damage and injury to the plants and shrubs of the lawn.
5. Water Flush After The Last Freeze
Some salt on the lawn is probably inevitable this winter, but you don’t have to let that probability get you down. Once that last freeze happens, flush the soil with quite a bit of water. This helps to alleviate any potential damage from the drying out and burning up of plant life.
So the next time winter weather threatens your driveway, take a bit more care when deicing or call on Bur-Han to do it the right way for you.
