Protect your home from the elements & prevent slips & falls with these essential winter tools

Along with the white stuff, winter brings its own set of challenges. Namely, keeping your property safe from the ice and snow.

A roof piled up with snow or a slick driveway can quickly become a safety hazard, and having the right winter tools can make all the difference. Here are seven must-have items that’ll help you weather the cold season with ease and peace of mind.

1. Trusty Snow Shovel

One for the driveway and a smaller one for the car, preferably! 

When that fresh blanket of snow covers your walkways and driveway, you’ll need a sturdy, reliable, and ergonomic snow shovel to get the job done right. Emphasis on the ergonomic part, because the last thing you want is to throw out your back or tweak your shoulder while shoveling in the cold.

You may also want to consider investing in an electric snow shovel. These winter tools give you the same snow “throwing” ability of a snow blower but on a smaller scale, making them perfect for those less demanding jobs. And most importantly, they’ll save you a lot of leaning, bending, scooping, and chucking.

For the car, you’ll need a smaller, more portable shovel to keep the windshield and other windows clear. You can also use it for those tight spaces, steps, and corners around your property that you can’t reach with the larger shovel.

2. Snow Blower for the Big Jobs

For heavy snowfalls and large areas that need clearing, nothing works like a snow blower. Whether gas-powered or electric, these handy winter tools cut through snow like a hot knife through butter, saving you tons of time and effort.

Like lawnmowers, there are models you push and others you ride, so you can pick one that best fits your snow-blowing needs.

3. Ice Melt or Salt to Prevent Slipping

As fun as it might sound, nobody wants a walkway or driveway that can double as an ice skating rink. Applying ice melt or salt to icy areas is an easy and effective way to make slippery surfaces safe again.

Ideally, however, you should apply these winter tools preemptively before snowfalls or storms to help prevent ice from building up in the first place. It may not totally prevent it from forming, but it will certainly make your cleanup job easier once the weather clears up.

4. Roof Rake

Many homes in snow-prone areas are equipped with angled roofs and supportive architecture to accommodate heavy loads and reduce the risk of collapses. But whether your home has these safety features or not, it’s best to have a roof rake in your arsenal of winter tools to keep things from getting out of hand.

Just be careful not to touch or scrape your shingles while raking, as it can damage them over time and may push snow underneath them. If there are only a few inches of snow on your roof, there’s no need to worry about breaking out the rake. If you have twenty, you can rake the bulk of it and leave two or three inches up there to avoid scraping off your shingles’ protective layer.

5. Ice Scraper & Snow Brush for the Car

Conveniently, ice scrapers and snowbrushes are often combined into one winter tool, so you can kill two birds with one purchase. Just make sure to keep it in the trunk or glove compartment so you never get caught without it.

Unfortunately, some brushes have bristles that can freeze and stick together, which may damage your paint job. To avoid this, pick up a foam snowbrush instead.

6. Generator for Winter Power Outages

Severe winter weather often comes with the risk of power outages. 

When blizzards or heavy snowstorms cut the lights on you, a backup generator is crucial to keep your home warm and well-lit and ensure that essential appliances stay running. This winter tool is a vital safety net that you don’t want to go without—even during a particularly calm cold season.

7. The Rescu App for Rapid Emergency Response

Slips and falls, house fires, burst pipes—these emergencies are all more common in the winter.

On the off chance they occur, you can’t afford any delays when calling for help. And unfortunately, calling 911 comes with a high risk of delays.

Not only do you have to spend precious seconds answering questions from and explaining your situation to a dispatcher…

But between the call rerouting queues, staffing shortages, and non-emergency calls that plague the 911 system, there’s no guarantee your call will be answered in a timely manner.

With the Rescu app, you can get help twenty times faster than 911 with just two taps on your smartphone or Apple Watch. The first tap is for the service you need—fire, police, or ambulance—and the second is to send the alert. 

After the second tap, several critical things happen within seconds:

• • The app instantly sends your pre-registered personal information, medical information, and current location (via built-in GPS technology) to Rescu’s private monitoring center.

• NOTE: This facility is UL-certified and dedicated solely to subscribers, eliminating the issue of non-emergency calls clogging up the system.
• First responders are dispatched immediately, armed with your crucial information so they can provide you with fast, accurate care when they arrive.
• All your pre-listed emergency contacts are notified via text that you’ve sent an alert. This text includes which service you’ve requested and a link to your location in the maps app.

Finally, if you want or need to fill your Rescu dispatcher in on the details of your emergency, you’ll always have the opportunity to open up a text chat or phone call with them on the next screen after sending an alert. 

No winter toolkit is complete without an emergency plan, and the Rescu app is the fastest and most effective way to protect your home and family.

Want to learn more? Check out our homepage, and if you’re ready to enjoy peace of mind this season, click or tap below to download today.