Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-08-2010, 05:27 PM
 
Location: Virginia
18,717 posts, read 31,151,691 times
Reputation: 42989

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx View Post
Don't touch it with your bare hands though; it's caustic.
Also, please don't use it anywhere near a drain that leads to the local rivers. It's toxic. That's why so many communities rely on sand and other snow melt products. It's also why cars in cities like Buffalo and Cleveland look so trashed and badly rusted after they're just a few years old. Salt really does a number on a car.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-08-2010, 05:53 PM
 
Location: somewhere
4,264 posts, read 9,298,233 times
Reputation: 3165
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Also, please don't use it anywhere near a drain that leads to the local rivers. It's toxic. That's why so many communities rely on sand and other snow melt products. It's also why cars in cities like Buffalo and Cleveland look so trashed and badly rusted after they're just a few years old. Salt really does a number on a car.
Can I just use sand? I would swear there is a sign over by the drain on our street that has something on it about what drains in there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2010, 05:59 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 29,004,249 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by ajzjmsmom View Post
Can I just use sand? I would swear there is a sign over by the drain on our street that has something on it about what drains in there.
I think sand works very well in most situations, especially in the more southern and eastern parts of Nova. Out where Styx is, in the NW part of Nova and closer to the mountains, snow can be more of a problem than it is for the rest of us.

As for the woolly bear--if he says it'll be wintery but also milder than last year, that's good enough for me. I'm a believer!!! I've been watching woolly bears for years and I can't help but notice they have a better prediction rate than the weatherguys.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-08-2010, 06:57 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
274 posts, read 711,022 times
Reputation: 99
Oh drat, now I have to scour my yard. Last year I found one without a stripe ... turned out to be prophetic.

As far as planning, please look to pet-friendly de-icing ... a client reminded me last winter that there are many products that don't damage pets .. or cement.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Hey guess what--I just saw my first Woolly Bear of the season, and this year they have stripes. Not super thick, but a lot thicker than last year!

(If you're new to the area, be sure to check out our local "weatherguy" the Woolly Bear. The one I saw today had a stripe about half the size of the ones in the photo in this thread. So, that means we'll get a cold winter but nothing like we had last year.)

https://www.city-data.com/forum/north...lly-bears.html
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2010, 10:01 AM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 29,004,249 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx View Post
Aren't these things moths?
Yup! After their stint as weather forecasters, the woolly bear becomes the pretty little Isabella Tiger moth. Of course, last winter so many people got mad at them... so a lot probably became Woolly Bear Stew!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2010, 04:07 PM
 
Location: In the woods
3,315 posts, read 10,112,562 times
Reputation: 1530
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Also, please don't use it anywhere near a drain that leads to the local rivers. It's toxic. That's why so many communities rely on sand and other snow melt products. It's also why cars in cities like Buffalo and Cleveland look so trashed and badly rusted after they're just a few years old. Salt really does a number on a car.
Caladium has a point here. As far as rust and cars, that's the other thing I do during the winter out of habit: take the car to a car wash and make sure the chassis gets washed!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2010, 04:11 PM
 
Location: In the woods
3,315 posts, read 10,112,562 times
Reputation: 1530
Quote:
Originally Posted by normie View Post
I think sand works very well in most situations, especially in the more southern and eastern parts of Nova. Out where Styx is, in the NW part of Nova and closer to the mountains, snow can be more of a problem than it is for the rest of us.
Good observation Normie. Part of the rock-salt use is from my upbringing when we had really tough winters. And that my father was in the military and made sure everyone and everything in the house was prepped for a catastrophe . . . or on a lesser scale--a big snowstorm.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jlyles View Post
... a client reminded me last winter that there are many products that don't damage pets .. or cement.
Another good point. I think there's stuff now that is a combination of sand-salt. My new/old house in Winchester has some concrete areas that are rather worn so I have to be careful with the salt-stuff this winter. In fact, since I need to purchase some salt I'm going to see what's available now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2010, 04:15 PM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,626 posts, read 77,789,489 times
Reputation: 19103
Quote:
Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx View Post
Don't touch it with your bare hands though; it's caustic.
...and tasty.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2010, 06:38 PM
 
Location: Home is where the heart is
15,402 posts, read 29,004,249 times
Reputation: 19090
Quote:
Originally Posted by scimitar12 View Post
We were at Home Depot the other day and I saw their selection of snow blowers. Given my age (55) and last year's record snow fall I admit I stood there for 10 minutes just thinking how nice it would be to have one of those, just in case...
LOL, and have you noticed how much bigger the snowblowers are this year? I was looking at them at Sears today and the little "Virginia sized" models were off to the side. It was the humongo serious looking machines that were center stage.

It's all good as far as I'm concerned. I believe in Murphy's Law--if we all buy way too much it'll guarantee we get hardly any snow at all.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-09-2010, 07:45 PM
 
Location: somewhere
4,264 posts, read 9,298,233 times
Reputation: 3165
Quote:
Originally Posted by normie View Post
LOL, and have you noticed how much bigger the snowblowers are this year? I was looking at them at Sears today and the little "Virginia sized" models were off to the side. It was the humongo serious looking machines that were center stage.

It's all good as far as I'm concerned. I believe in Murphy's Law--if we all buy way too much it'll guarantee we get hardly any snow at all.
Please everyone go buy to much snow equipment, I don't mind alittle snow but would prefer not to see snow like Feb brought.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2022 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:11 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top