The Rake Trick That Makes Removing Snow And Ice From A Gravel Driveway A Breeze

There are plenty of handy hacks to help you take care of snow and ice outside, but if you're dealing with a gravel driveway, there are extra considerations to keep in mind. Because gravel can easily be displaced, you can't use a snow blower, so carefully employing a shovel is your best option. Or is it? If you don't have a snow shovel handy — or find it takes a real toll on your back — consider using a rake instead.

A regular garden rake can easily double up as a snow removal device and is especially handy when dealing with fresh and light powder snow. Hold the rake upside down with the teeth facing upwards so you're not dislodging the gravel underneath. Then, use it to push the accumulated powder away from you. The snow piles on top of the rake, while the heavier gravel is left behind. Work section by section and make sure to avoid a crucial snow-shoveling mistake: harming your lawn by dumping all of that unwanted snow into one huge pile. If the snow is wet and packed, you can instead use a yard rake to loosen it up, grating it along the upper layer of dense snow. Once the clusters are broken up, flip the rake over and sweep the snow away.

Similar to a garden rake, a roof rake can also be used to clean your gravel driveway with ease. Although it's designed to remove snow from (you guessed it) the roof, a roof rake is equally effective on the ground. Extend its arm, as needed, then use the rake to drag the snow towards you and off the driveway in strips. As those who have tried this hack point out, raking snow tends to be faster than shoveling, not to mention it's less physically demanding.

What's more, a rake can also be used in tandem with a shovel. Once you've shoveled the top layer of snow, a rake allows you to move away additional layers closer to the gravel without dislodging it. You can then use the rake to break up any remaining snow into a fine powder that will melt away more quickly.

Another perk of using a rake instead of a shovel is that it won't leave behind a smooth surface that can freeze over and become dangerous to walk on. After raking, some snow will still be on your gravel driveway; however, the individual tines will create a series of raised and indented lines that offer better traction for driving and walking.

If shoveling or raking snow off of your gravel driveway proves to be too strenuous on their own, other tools are worth trying alongside a rake to speed up the snow removal process. A wet/dry shop vacuum, for example, provides a great hack to easily remove snow in a pinch, as long as the snow is deep enough so you aren't working too close to the gravel and risk sucking up rocks. Alternatively, a leaf blower is another great tool for dealing with light snow. Simply aim it at the fresh powder, about a ½-inch or higher from the gravel, and blow it out of the way. Unfortunately, this trick will not work on wet or icy snow, which can be surprisingly heavy.

Finally, one more solid option is to sprinkle rock salt (or your melting agent of choice) on the gravel right before a snowstorm hits. This will help prevent accumulation before it even happens. If you've waited too long and it's already snowing, rake away as much as you can, then drop salt on whatever snow is left on the gravel and watch it melt away.