The HeatTrak Homeowner's Blog & Resources

It’s important to keep your driveway and the pavements around your home clear of snow and ice to reduce the risk of slip-and-fall accidents on your property. When winter storms threaten, DIY homeowners have three approaches to snow management from which to choose: chemical agents that clear these hazards away after the storm passes (de-icing), chemical agents that preempt them before a single snowflake falls (anti-icing), and non-chemical alternatives. Below, we take a look at these approaches.

When your neighbors find ways to manage winter weather that you might not have thought of, it could be more than a case of envy or curiosity that makes you take note. “Keeping up with the Joneses” when it comes to improvements that make your home safer in winter not only can protect your family from slip-and-fall accidents, they also have the added benefits of increasing wintertime curb appeal and saving you money.

Below are five ways you can make your home's winter-weather strategy something even the Joneses will envy:

Each year, some 2.8 million seniors are treated in emergency rooms for injuries due to falling, a good percentage of which occur during the icy, slippery months of winter. If you have older folks in your life, you know how worried they can be about slip-and-fall accidents.  One of the best ways to protect them from this danger is with entrance mats.

A recent Canadian study proves what homeowners in cold-weather climates have always suspected: the risk of heart attack increases following a snowfall.

The study was conducted in Quebec from 1981 to 2014 and published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Researchers studied 128,000 heart attack cases and some 68,000 deaths and found that eight inches of snowfall raised the risk of a heart attack in men by 16 percent and the risk of dying by one third.

One of the most attractive and impactful improvements you can make to enhance the curb appeal of your home is a decorative and stamped concrete walkway or driveway. The transformation of an entire driveway or walkway, or the outdoor living potential of a patio area covered in this material, can upgrade the appearance of your house and landscape perhaps like no other home improvement project. And unlike brick or paver stones, stamped concrete offers versatility in installation and is often a more cost-effective option than stone.

In recent years, innovations in snow shovel technology have led to a wide range of new and unique shovel types. These innovations are a blessing, but they can also make finding your ideal snow shovel more difficult.

Here are 3 tips for choosing the best snow shovel for you:

As a homeowner, your life would be immeasurably easier if you could predict what type of weather conditions are headed your way with each incoming winter season. You’d know what kind of precautions to take, whether to invest in certain equipment, and how to plan for your snow removal efforts.

Driving on our nation's highways is challenging enough during the springtime, summer, and fall, but when winter arrives, the dangers of the road increase dramatically. Learning how to handle the snow and ice is crucial when you need to commute on a daily basis, so it is important to follow winter driving tips, such as the five given below, to best understand how to drive in snowy weather, and minimize the risks of your winter drive.