How to snow removal for seniors!

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GP44

Member
Been looking at a few options for snow removal that won’t break my back.
Thought about a light weight shovel
I used a broom and a shovel today because the snow was light and fluffy but realized that the shovel was heavier than needed for light fluffy snow.
Will consider a cordless snow blower looks like the brands I prefer use 40V batteries.
Just wondering what works good for you old folks-like myself!
 

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GP44 said:
Been looking at a few options for snow removal that won’t break my back.
Thought about a light weight shovel
I used a broom and a shovel today because the snow was light and fluffy but realized that the shovel was heavier than needed for light fluffy snow.
Will consider a cordless snow blower if I can find one that will use 20V batteries from my Black and Decker or Works brand tools.
Just wondering what works good for you old folks-like myself!
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We have a gas snow blower and an atv with a plough. It seems to work well for the amount of snow we need to move.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
We have a gas snow blower and an atv with a plough. It seems to work well for the amount of snow we need to move.
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I only do a path maybe 50 feet from the front steps to the edge of the street and maybe 70 feet from the back steps to the detached garage.
That 70 feet is mostly over grass so it is a little uneven.
The big gas powered unit in the garage takes more work than shoveling.
 

GP44 said:
Been looking at a few options for snow removal that won’t break my back.
Thought about a light weight shovel
I used a broom and a shovel today because the snow was light and fluffy but realized that the shovel was heavier than needed for light fluffy snow.
Will consider a cordless snow blower if I can find one that will use 20V batteries from my Black and Decker or Worx brand tools.
Just wondering what works good for you old folks-like myself!
Click to expand...
We used to live in the cold miserable north east. Understanding that age reduces the ability to do some unpleasant tasks & anticipating all the bad weather many all going thru now, our retirement plan of moving to the warm & sunny south west eliminated that misery
 
Knight said:
We used to live in the cold miserable north east. Understanding that age reduces the ability to do some unpleasant tasks & anticipating all the bad weather many all going thru now, our retirement plan of moving to the warm & sunny south west eliminated that misery
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Did this huge storm get over to where you live at all?
I have a son and dil around Springfield Mo.
and they got their share of snow.
But theirs will melt a lot quicker than ours up here in North central Illinois.
 
GP44 said:
I only do a path maybe 50 feet from the front steps to the edge of the street and maybe 70 feet from the back steps to the detached garage.
That 70 feet is mostly over grass so it is a little uneven.
The big gas powered unit in the garage takes more work than shoveling.
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We have a long steep driveway so need the ATV. Doing it manually just isn’t feasible. Then we have a large area to do between the garage and the house which again is much too large to do manually. Using the atv is a must. This year we purchased a bigger snow blower to make paths around our house for the dogs. Even doing that manually is far too much and not doable with the atv. Most of the area is grass. The only place we shovel manually is our back deck and stairs.
 
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I have a separate "Snow Removal" savings account. It allows me to afford to have a crew come out and remove snow. They plow the driveway, shovel paths to bird feeders and mailbox. Shovel the back deck and if needed, they also "rake" the snow off the roof. They are here now cleaning up after the 22.5 inches of snow this latest storm left us with.
 
If the area isn't too big the battery snowblower or leaf blower does the job as long as it's
not packed down too far. If your place gets the plow bump, that probably will need a shovel more.
Better than all of it anyway. Everyone here uses either blower. Mine is electric or I'd be using them
 
We have this Greenworks 80A/h 12" snow shovel; it's a rotating brush. It's long and awkward w the weight at either end, but it's very effective. My wife uses it for the steps and tight areas. It throws snow quite a distance and it can handle some wet snow as well. We have the GW leaf blower and string trimmer as well, and have had no issues.

We also have a 24" Honda snow blower and contract for snow removal. I can't stand having snow on my driveway,


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I still shovel by hand. Spent 4 hours on Sunday shoveling and another 7 hours on Monday. Received a total of 20". A neighbor came over on Monday with his 4 wheeler and plowed the end of my driveway to remove the huge pile the State Dept. plowed in. I was thankful for that. He refused any payment for his services. I have piles of snow 5 feet tall all over the place. The feral cats are happy they now have a pathway shoveled to get to their food.
 
GP44 said:
Been looking at a few options for snow removal that won’t break my back.
Thought about a light weight shovel
I used a broom and a shovel today because the snow was light and fluffy but realized that the shovel was heavier than needed for light fluffy snow.
Will consider a cordless snow blower looks like the brands I prefer use 40V batteries.
Just wondering what works good for you old folks-like myself!
Click to expand...
This may sound odd. Living in Tennessee we don't usually get heavy snow fall. I have one of those backpack type of leaf blowers that puts out a blast of air power. I find that I can use the blower to make pathways effectively. On our long asphalt drive I usually wait till the sun shines a bit where I have clear a path down the drive to our mail box.

With just a bit of warming on the asphalt that leaf blower will clear the drive very well. Even those areas where my truck has packed snow the blast of air will take a small edge opening and pop the packed snow loose. I go next door and clear the sidewalk and drive of our elderly neighbor. Crazy, maybe, but at 77 I've learned a few things.
 
I would love having a snowblower of some sort. Problem is some areas are gravel and others have said the gravel mucks up the machine. I wonder if that trimmer-like one would work? But the only place it could blow snow would be onto the road or onto the garage door. Thinking about this...
 
mike4lorie said:
Where are the kids like when we were kids, going from home to home, and offering to do their laneways for $5.00? Now I am sure it's probably $20 - $25... But I am sure it would be worth it for the snow we received in the past few days.... The sad thing is, don't even think there are kids like that anymore...
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Funny thing is that the only kids we see outside are the little ones, like ten years old and younger and by only one the nicer days and going from one kids house to the other.
 
Rider77 said:
This may sound odd. Living in Tennessee we don't usually get heavy snow fall. I have one of those backpack type of leaf blowers that puts out a blast of air power. I find that I can use the blower to make pathways effectively. On our long asphalt drive I usually wait till the sun shines a bit where I have clear a path down the drive to our mail box.

With just a bit of warming on the asphalt that leaf blower will clear the drive very well. Even those areas where my truck has packed snow the blast of air will take a small edge opening and pop the packed snow loose. I go next door and clear the sidewalk and drive of our elderly neighbor. Crazy, maybe, but at 77 I've learned a few things.
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Is that one of the gas powered ones?
 
GP44 said:
Is that one of the gas powered ones?
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Yes it is, 2 cycle (oil & gas mix). Mine is a HusqvarnaThere are electric versions as well.
GP44 said:
Is that one of the gas powered ones?
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Yes it is, Husqvarna 2 cycle meaning that it requires oil and gas mixture. There are electric versions. I've had it for years and does a great job. In case anyone objects to a gas leaf blower I offset my sin by having an electric weed wacker. Off setting actions kind of like having a diet soda with a warm rich chocolate brownie.
 
GoodEnuff said:
I would love having a snowblower of some sort. Problem is some areas are gravel and others have said the gravel mucks up the machine. I wonder if that trimmer-like one would work? But the only place it could blow snow would be onto the road or onto the garage door. Thinking about this...
Click to expand...
You can adjust the skids on the bottom of the blower so that it doesn't make contact with the gravel. It will leave some snow but it won't be very deep. Most people with gravel driveways leave an inch or two of snow base so that when it packs and hardens the blower can be adjusted down a bit and ride on the base.
 
I'm lucky in that the places that I have to shovel the snow can be pushed away rather than picking it up and throwing it. Walk behind snowblower gets the tight spots and the compact tractor and blower does the big areas. I blow paths around the yard for Harper and I to walk. We quite often have different wildlife wandering around the yard and she likes to check out all of their scents. And of course she has to mark at all of them. I keep a path blown to the back yard garage so it doesn't take much more time to do the rest.
 

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