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Comment by gorgoiler | Hacker News Reader

I’ve never lived anywhere with snow like this. Why can’t you hose it off? Your water supply is “cold” but it is still warm compared to the snow.

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Assuming the valve to your outdoor water supply is still on (we have a valve that controls all outside water) applying water risks refreezing. The water will go somewhere and there it will refreeze. Now you have a different, harder-to-solve problem.

[source: life in Ontario, Canada, previously Minnesota]

I have a hilly dirt driveway that doesn't get much sun. Snowblower generally doesn't get all of the snow, just most of it. I generally prefer winter gets cold, stays cold and then gets warm over changing temperature because the snow will melt partially and then refreeze into ice. Most cars with snow tires do OK on packed snow but ice is tough.

Once it gets frozen like this it pretty stays that way until spring or at least an extended warm spell. The amount of salt I would need is pretty cost prohibitive. I even tried breaking it up with a pry bar a few times and quickly realized that was an insane task. As you said I'd never spray the hill down with warmish water for fear of making the problem worse.

Yep, in northern climates it is essential in the winter to disconnect hoses and turn off the supply to outdoor-facing valves from inside if possible. Underground sprinkler systems need to be purged with air pressure to blow out as much water as possible prior to freezing. RV plumbing tanks need to be purged of water and replaced with RV tank anti-freeze. Life in the Great White North.

> in northern climates it is essential in the winter to disconnect hoses and turn off the supply to outdoor-facing valves from inside if possible

If your house was built in the last ~25 years it will have frost-proof outdoor faucets (example [1]), and there is no need to turn off the supply in the winter. Many newer homes don't even have a valve for turning off the water supply (except one single valve somewhere near the house water source). As long as they are installed correctly you are fine, but you definitely cannot keep a hose connected or you risk defeating the protection.

I live on a small hill and have a snow making machine so the kids can ski/snowboard in the winter, and we use the outdoor faucets for hours at a time. But when finished, we disconnect the hose and use a special nozzle to connect the hose to an air compressor and blow out all the water remaining in the hose. Once the water stops flowing it freezes very quickly and the hose is useless unless you bring it inside the garage for a day - and then it makes a big mess in the garage!

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051966QW?tag=wnla-org-20&linkCod...

Many legacy hose and plumbing fittings made of brass and other metals can split in very cold temperatures if they've been left connected outdoors all winter. They'd be ruined in the spring thaw. I've seen plastics crack under similar conditions.

Right, the reason frost-proof faucets work is because there's no water in them when not in use. The valve is at the far end, 12+ inches into the house (the water on the other side of the valve is never cold enough to freeze). And the pipe is angled ever so slightly downward, so gravity ensures that any water left after closing the valve flows out. That's why you can't leave a hose connected - it leaves open the possibility of preventing water from draining out before it freezes.

Snow + water = slush. Frozen slush is appallingly difficult to remove and tends to freeze into irregular shapes, making it dangerous to pedestrians because it can be quite sharp should they fall on it.

You can do it with salt water, at times when temperature stays above -7 (C).

Salt is corrosive however so if you keep you car or bike there you will get increased rust problems if you skimp on cleaning them.

Because even a snowcovered driveway is preferable to an ice-rink.

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