# Freezing rain



## WINTERGROUP (Dec 10, 2004)

Just wanted to know . How do you guys deal with freezing rain ???


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## hydro_37 (Sep 10, 2006)

Pre-salt and then apply as necessary.


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## Jay brown (Dec 26, 2005)

salt when it's done raining... have tried to pre treat but has never worked....i was out salting in a thunder storm back in december and all the salt washed away...we had about 1" of rain and 1/2-3/4" of ice...


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## illiniplower (Aug 22, 2008)

Ummmmmmmmm lets see here let me think.............................. Oh yeah I heard of this great new product called SALT works wonders.


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## BMWSTUD25 (Aug 21, 2008)

Pre treating can help a lot as it will help keep the ice from bonding to the pavement and thus allowing it to be peeled up easier. If you have snow on the ground already and in the lots and can wait to plow them untill after the freezing rain then wait. The ice builds up on top of the snow and has almost no effect on your ability to clean it up. And when all else fails, lots of salt will usually do the trick


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

Try to watch the temps

If the temps are dropping try to pre treat right before the temps drop below freezing as to minimize the loss of salt to run off

Otherwise just salt afterwards


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## unit28 (Jan 1, 2007)

you might also need a sand/ salt mix...?


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

unit28;735717 said:


> you might also need a sand/ salt mix...?


What for?


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## 10elawncare (Sep 16, 2007)

sand provides a small amount of traction on the slick surface.


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## illiniplower (Aug 22, 2008)

hell you want ice to melt just do what I do. Take a piece of duct tape and put over the BLAST button that will melt the ice fast! LOL


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

cretebaby;735710 said:


> Try to watch the temps
> 
> If the temps are dropping try to pre treat right before the temps drop below freezing as to minimize the loss of salt to run off
> 
> Otherwise just salt afterwards


yep thats the best way. the other thing is watch the type of precipitation. Alot of times it will change to ICE, hail , snow, sleet, before the ground temp drops. Once the precip isnt comign down in the form of rain you should start salting

If it keeps coiming down as rain, and temps have dropped to freezing or close, then yoru gonna need alot of it


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

Here is a question......4 inch of snow down at 7am...need lots cleared by opening......plow everything...then changes to freezing rain.....what to do now?


btw temp rising soon to above 32, but ground temp well below after sevreal days of below freezing weather


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

tls22;735860 said:


> Here is a question......4 inch of snow down at 7am...need lots cleared by opening......plow everything...then changes to freezing rain.....what to do now?
> 
> btw temp rising soon to above 32, but ground temp well below after sevreal days of below freezing weather


if they need to be plowed right away, then do just that , apply heavy on the salt

if they can wait ...leave the snow till after it is all over and plow it all up at once...but it will be heavy and hard on yoru truck , go slow

even if the acctual ground temp is below...sunlight might change that if its avalible... i know around here...it can be 28 on a cloudy day , and stuff will melt and not freeze till the sun goes down

if its sunny. if seen melting at 20 degrees on a nice black parking lot


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

elite1msmith;735866 said:


> if they need to be plowed right away, then do just that , apply heavy on the salt
> 
> if they can wait ...leave the snow till after it is all over and plow it all up at once...but it will be heavy and hard on yoru truck , go slow
> 
> ...


Thanks elite. You can see some of my pics it went from nice fluffy snow(singing to beyonce in my truck, to hitting a brick wall) Do you think some of the roack salt would get wash away?

sorry might be a dum question


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## unit28 (Jan 1, 2007)

cretebaby;735728 said:


> What for?


HUH? what fer?...LOL j/k everyone uses a sand salt mix right?

where I came from, if it were icing up from freezing rain, that equates to a TX nightmare...still does. ICE no one can deal with it very well when it gets to be about an inch and then it keeps on building up. from frezing rain.
Traction on roads or sidewalks can best be navigated with somehing that Northerners don't use to much,
sand...OK I am done kidding.

From TX yesterday. and they did not use salt last time I was there.

Johnson County officials advised residents to stay inside Tuesday night because of icy conditions. Sand trucks could not get out fast enough, according to Johnson County Emergency Management. No ambulances were available late Tuesday night because of the number of wrecks, officials said.

Fort Worth officials said 480 major and minor crashes had been reported from noon Tuesday through 8 a.m. Wednesday


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## BMWSTUD25 (Aug 21, 2008)

tls22;735860 said:


> Here is a question......4 inch of snow down at 7am...need lots cleared by opening......plow everything...then changes to freezing rain.....what to do now?
> 
> btw temp rising soon to above 32, but ground temp well below after sevreal days of below freezing weather


you just have to plow it to get it open and get some salt down and maybe lots of it if its bad. Thats the bad part about charging salt "per app" like I do instead of "per pound" but they both have positive and negatives.


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## prizeprop (Jan 16, 2004)

tls22;735860 said:


> Here is a question......4 inch of snow down at 7am...need lots cleared by opening......plow everything...then changes to freezing rain.....what to do now?
> 
> btw temp rising soon to above 32, but ground temp well below after sevreal days of below freezing weather


I know your pain.Hit one lot yesterday three times with salt between 6am and noon, per there request,still didnt do much.


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## hydro_37 (Sep 10, 2006)

tls22;735873 said:


> Thanks elite. You can see some of my pics it went from nice fluffy snow(singing to beyonce in my truck, to hitting a brick wall) Do you think some of the roack salt would get wash away?
> 
> sorry might be a dum question


I don't see it washing away. If the lot has traffic that will pack it down or even crush it up to work better. 
Glad you got some more snow and ice to plow Timmy. :salute:


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## augerandblade (Jan 17, 2009)

tymusictymusicdepends on the contract, mostly salt walks and tricky hills etc befor e the storm. salt walks during the storm..........until it ends. If they dont have salt included in specs then sand sand sand with calcium mixed . (If youre in the parking lot sweeping biz ya just got more work to do in that case)


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## Jay brown (Dec 26, 2005)

it washed all of mine away last time....but it was raining hard!!!! like so hard that i was soaked in less than 2-3 minutes....


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

BMWSTUD25;735903 said:


> you just have to plow it to get it open and get some salt down and maybe lots of it if its bad. Thats the bad part about charging salt "per app" like I do instead of "per pound" but they both have positive and negatives.


Thanks, yeah i see your point with charging per pound. In a busy year that will prob be the best way.



prizeprop;735929 said:


> I know your pain.Hit one lot yesterday three times with salt between 6am and noon, per there request,still didnt do much.


lol, im glad my boss and i where not the only ones. Salt did not want to do much, then temp drop that night. I still had fun!



hydro_37;736861 said:


> I don't see it washing away. If the lot has traffic that will pack it down or even crush it up to work better.
> Glad you got some more snow and ice to plow Timmy. :salute:


Thanks Tim. It has not been a blockbuster winter, just been very steady. lol funny you said that about traffic, i was driving around trying to crush it up myself.
Sorry if my questions are pretty basic, just dealing with this white stuff we never use to get in jersey.


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

Jay brown;737178 said:


> it washed all of mine away last time....but it was raining hard!!!! like so hard that i was soaked in less than 2-3 minutes....


Thanks jay, i guess it does depend on how hard it raining. That the worse loading salt in the pouring rain.:crying:


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## WINTERGROUP (Dec 10, 2004)

Ummmmmmmmm lets see here let me think.............................. I HAVE HEARD OF SALT SMART ASS, WE CAN NOT USE SAND SALT MIX ON OUR ACCOUNTS.
WHEN IT IS RAINING AND FREEZING ON CONTACT I USE ROCK SALT IT SEEMS TO LAST THE LONGEST. I WAS JUST ASKING IF ANY ONE HAD OTHER IDEAS.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

WINTERGROUP;735607 said:


> Just wanted to know . How do you guys deal with freezing rain ???





WINTERGROUP;741607 said:


> Ummmmmmmmm lets see here let me think.............................. I HAVE HEARD OF SALT SMART ASS, WE CAN NOT USE SAND SALT MIX ON OUR ACCOUNTS.
> WHEN IT IS RAINING AND FREEZING ON CONTACT I USE ROCK SALT IT SEEMS TO LAST THE LONGEST. I WAS JUST ASKING IF ANY ONE HAD OTHER IDEAS.


Calm down

You asked how to deal with freezing rain and were given some very helpful good ideas


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

tls22;735860 said:


> Here is a question......4 inch of snow down at 7am...need lots cleared by opening......plow everything...then changes to freezing rain.....what to do now?
> 
> btw temp rising soon to above 32, but ground temp well below after sevreal days of below freezing weather


Tell them your method of attack and wait for the freezing rain.

I've done this before, customers need to trust your judgment, as you are the professional. And if they can't get through 4" of snow, tell them to move to Florida.

I've seen it pour at 9* one time. End of January, lots of frost in the ground and had about 2-3" of slurpee snow before it changed to rain. Rain soaked through the slurpee, hit the ground and froze instantly. Never got above freezing as they predicted, didn't even get all the lots bare until spring. Worst storm I can remember.


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

10elawncare;735729 said:


> sand provides a small amount of traction on the slick surface.


"Small amount" of traction is correct. Once the 8th or 9th car runs over it it's worthless (unless the mess to clean up afterward is an extra).


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## Ipushsnow (Oct 29, 2007)

Salt salt and more salt. Then salt again. When done, salt once more and then go get more salt.


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

Mark Oomkes;742751 said:


> Tell them your method of attack and wait for the freezing rain.
> 
> I've done this before, customers need to trust your judgment, as you are the professional. And if they can't get through 4" of snow, tell them to move to Florida.
> 
> I've seen it pour at 9* one time. End of January, lots of frost in the ground and had about 2-3" of slurpee snow before it changed to rain. Rain soaked through the slurpee, hit the ground and froze instantly. Never got above freezing as they predicted, didn't even get all the lots bare until spring. Worst storm I can remember.


Thanks mark......That sounds like a nasty storm. How was the traction for pushing the snow?


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

tls22;744604 said:


> Thanks mark......That sounds like a nasty storm. How was the traction for pushing the snow?


Parking lots weren't too bad, not great, but not bad.

Roads were terrible, some of them you couldn't go over 10 MPH without sliding off. Soon as you hit that, no matter where the wheels turned, you'd slide with the crown of the road.

Hope to never see that again, it was miserable. Spent 2 weeks getting the ice off sidewalks.


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## glfredrick (Nov 21, 2008)

cretebaby;735710 said:


> Try to watch the temps
> 
> If the temps are dropping try to pre treat right before the temps drop below freezing as to minimize the loss of salt to run off
> 
> Otherwise just salt afterwards


^^^^^^^^ Yup...

Otherwise, you just sit back and watch it happen -- then deal with it after.

We had a nice little ice storm this year in Louisville. Cost us a ton -- about a quarter million dollars on our campus -- from power being down, tree damage, etc. Roadways were the least of our worries, but we did need to get them cleared. Salf and ice-melt (Lesco) after the fact seemed to do the trick, with a bunch of spot chipping on steps, etc.

Our campus was literally covered 3 feet deep in brush and trees. We're just now finishing up the cutting from a storm that hit the last week in January, and the city still looks like a bombing zone.


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