To salt or not to salt?
Before you use salt to melt ice on your driveway or sidewalk, consider less corrosive materials, environmentalists urge: Liquid magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium magnesium acetate and potassium acetate all might do the job. Most hardware stores carry one or more of these salt alternatives. Remember, regular salt is not effective at temperatures below 10 degrees.
Source: Illinois Prairie Rivers Network
Control heat costs
You’ve got no choice but run the furnace in weather like this. ComEd spokesman Paul Callighan reminds homeowners there are ways to keep the bill as low as possible.
Check for drafts around windows and doors. Make sure your furnace filter is clean so you get as much heat as possible.
If you use ceiling fans, make sure they’re going counter-clockwise in winter to bring warm air down.
Starting a car in the cold
Turn off all accessories such as the heater, defroster, radio, lights and wiper.
Fuel-injected vehicles do not require pressing the accelerator. In older, carbureted systems, press once on the accelerator to draw gas into the carburetor. Don’t rev the engine. Take it easy until the car warms up. Add gasoline antifreeze to the fuel tank to protect against fuel-line freeze.
Keep the gas tank at least half-filled.
Source: AAA Motor Club
It's winter; slow down
Increase your following distance. Establish a six-second time gap between you and the car ahead of you. Watch for ice that forms first in shaded areas, on bridges and overpasses, and in intersections.
Clear snow and ice from your car, including the hood, roof and trunk, so it doesn’t blow on your window. Slow down. Avoid sudden stops, starts and turns. In a skid, ease off the accelerator and steer in the direction you want to go.
Source: AAA Motor Club
If you get stuck
Clear away as much snow as possible from around the tires. Improve traction by scattering sand, cat litter or other abrasive material around the front tires for front-wheel drive cars, and around the rear tires for rear-wheel drive cars. Place the car in low or second gear and apply gentle pressure to the accelerator. Ease off if the tires spin. If still unable to free the vehicle, try slowly rocking the car back and forth. If unable to free your vehicle, set up reflectors, flares or other signals to alert passing motorists.
Source: AAA Motor Club
Snow courtesy
What’s the best way to thank a neighbor who brings a snowblower over to clean out your driveway?
Anna Post, great-great-granddaughter of famed Emily Post and a staffer at the Emily Post Institute. “The most important thing is to say thank you, in person if you see it happen,” said Post. “If not, but you know who it is, stop by or leave a note to say thank you.
“That could suffice. If you can’t afford a gift, that’s OK. I wouldn’t try to give cash for it,” she said.
Rockford Register Star
author: Geri Nikolai