Last winter, the story of a man who saved his neighbor's house with a snow thrower hit the media and made the Diorite, Michigan, repairman famous. Steve secured his 15 minutes of YouTube fame as "The Snow Thrower Hero" for extinguishing a house fire with his son-in-law's machine.
While you may never have to use your thrower to fling snow onto a fire like Steve had to, you still might be interested to learn that your shovel substitute can come in handy for more than just clearing the drive. Here are three unusual ways that snow throwers can help you out next winter.
Creating a Winter Wonderland for the Kids
What child wouldn't love his or her own snow hut? (And what parent wouldn't love a few minutes' relief from cabin fever?)Take your thrower out in the back yard and use it to build a hut, igloo or snow mountain for your kids to enjoy.
To make it, mark a big circle to follow and start pushing your snow thrower around the outermost edge of the circle, aiming the shoot low. As you continue to spiral into the core of the circle, increasingly adjust the shoot so that it aims higher as the snow begins to build up in the circle's center.
Your finished product will be a pile of snow ready for hut-sculpting.
Paving the Way for Small Pets
Small dogs can be finicky. If they don't enjoy the snow as much as the kids do, you can use your blower to make their lives a bit easier in the winter.
Start it up at your back door and create a path down the porch or walkway and onto the grass. You'll want to create a few paths back here to give your pet some options, or else clear a small patch of grass that the path leads to.
Roxy will no longer be lost in a sea of snow, and she also won't track as much moisture into your home when she's done.
Decorating for the Holidays
If you have a small snow blower, you might not realize that you have the perfect decorating tool.
When it comes time to string the lights, snow throwers make for the perfect finishing touches. Lightly blow away the snow around your landscaping, or make room to place spotlights in the front of your home to highlight your handiwork. You can even use a small blower to lightly dust any outside pine trees, wreaths, or garland with snow for a Kodak-worthy final touch. Small snow throwers are perfect for this job because they're easy to handle, give you better maneuverability and won't deliver the power that would destroy your decorations and hard work.
Start getting more bang for your snow thrower bucks. Use these tips to start seeing how else you might be able to use your snow equipment this year.
