Tip of the Week: Gritting at Home

by Rejus, 28th November 2021

Rejus FM Tip of the Week

Rejus is primarily a company that provides cleaning (among many other services) to commercial and industrial clients. However, in order to support the wider community, we’re going to use the knowledge collected over decades of experience to provide weekly advice for either cleaning or building maintenance.

Read on!

26th November 2021: Facilities Management

We’ve already ran into several instances of snow and frost in late November, so as the the winter months approaches it’s important to be prepared to protect yourself and your property. As a Facilities Management company that offers gritting to our commercial clients, we’ve gained some great insight into how best to grit a variety of properties and what works best where.

Here’s some basic tips we want to pass on to you for use on domestic properties:

  • The first thing to consider is the impact using grit and salt will have after the snow and ice is melted away. We’re all familiar with the mess that can be left behind when grit is dragged into the house and carpets. The best product to use for the path leading to your door is small granular white salt that can be found in most supermarkets. It’s more expensive than unrefined salt, but as a trade-off white salt is quicker at melting away snow.

  • Brown Salt is cheaper and works just fine on roads and driveways. There’s usually more ground to cover anyway, and you’re reducing the chance of residues of this grit being dragged into the house. Consider how you’re able to keep some distance to where it’s placed and your entrance way. This can also be the most cost effective choice if the areas where your car needs to travel is your main concern.

  • Much like the predictive gritting service we supply to our clients, you need to know what the best time is to put down grit. Keep an eye on the forecast for the following day, and when it’s predicted to dip below freezing, pre-grit key areas the evening before. This will absorb moisture and impact the development of slippery ice on them areas. Having an alert system via your phone may also be an option worth exploring.

  • Gritting is likely to be ineffective in the event of rain or sleet, as the grit is likely to be washed away or overwhelmed. This also applies when snow is too heavy, making gritting an issue of timing in a lot of circumstances. Rather than stressing and waiting perched to go out and grit when the time is right, it may be best to wait till the morning in this instance. It’s important to remember than all kinds of grit and salt take time to work properly, so doing it just before you set off is also not helpful.

To learn more about our Winter Grounds Maintenance Services, implanted for commercial and industrial clients, visit our web page here.