Fall Is Coming
Fall is here and for some of us, it came fast. We had a mild and surprisingly wet summer this year. Although it’s still nice outside, the heavy snow earlier this year and the unusually mild summer is a strong reminder of just how unpredictable the weather is. Winter is on its way and that means it’s time to get your lawn checked, whether you’re a business or a homeowner. Here are a few things to consider.
1. Sprinkler Blow Outs
Water expands when it freezes. When it does, it can damage water pipes. That’s why you need to have your sprinklers blown out before it gets too cold. If there’s still water in your sprinkler pipes when the snow starts to fall, it will definitely freeze. You might not notice until next spring, though. Unless there’s a brief thaw in the middle of winter, the first sign of broken sprinkler pipes is when they start flooding your lawn. That’s a terrible mess to clean up.
Photo by Polesie Toys
2. Fall Yard Clean-Up
A lot of garbage builds up in your lawn over the spring and summer. For homeowners, kids leave out toys, yard tools get left out, and of course the leaves fall from all the trees. For businesses, there’s litter, detritus kicked off the road by cars, and also the leaves. You’ll want to get all these cleaned up before snowfall. Especially the leaves, which can smother the grass, or provide a nesting place for fungus and insects.
Since the leaves don’t fall all at once, you’ll want to plan on spending a little time each week cleaning them up until they’re all down. For businesses, that can mean hiring a yard maintenance company. The earlier you get on it, the less work they’ll need to do each visit, reducing the labor charges, so don’t wait on getting that arranged.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska
3. Planning For Snow Removal
While you’re planning for leaf removal, you should also give some thought to snow removal. For homeowners, that means making sure you have all the tools and that they’re in good condition. If you’re a business, you might hire another company to manage that and they’ll have their own tools. Instead, you’ll want to make plans for where to move the snow to so it doesn’t obstruct traffic around your parking lot. The same applies for de-icing the parking lots. You don’t want to be liable for any medical bills because someone slipped while walking to your business!
4. Inclement Weather Parking Planning
This is a part of planning for snow removal, but you should put some thought into it as its own thing. If there’s sudden changes in the weather, is your parking lot covered? Will customers be able to get into your store? Will there be places to park for them when they get in? What are the most common places people park? With a bit of planning, any time there’s a sudden snow storm.
You’ll also want to have someone on standby to get this done as early as possible on the day the snow falls so it doesn’t disrupt your business. Prioritize being able to get in and the closest parking lots first so customers don’t have to walk so far in the cold. Planning ahead of time will save you a lot of trouble when it actually happens.
Get Ready Now
The weather is unpredictable. The difference between comfortably warm and ten inches of snow can be one cold night, especially considering last winter. You want to make sure you get the general clean-up done before it gets too cold to do it. Planning ahead makes all the difference when it comes to keeping things running smoothly. Don’t wait until the snow buries you! Start planning and getting it done today!
