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Snow Blower Etiquette: What Times of Day Are Appropriate to Snow Blow?
Snow blowers are extremely helpful after a big storm, but they can also be very noisy. How late is too late and how early is too early to use the machines?
A snow blower and shovel sit in the snow while their owner takes a break.
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Get ready for more snow! Another winter storm is expected to dump 6-9 inches of snow on the Niles-Morton Grove area from 3 a.m. to midnight Tuesday.
With snowfalls averaging 1.5 inches per hour, residents will likely have their snow blowers revved up and ready to go. Patch wants to know: How late is too late to snow blow your property and how early is too early?
We posed the “snow blower etiquette” question to our Facebook fans during last week’s snow storm and here’s what residents had to say. (Comments have been slightly edited for grammar and clarity):
"Too late is probably 10 p.m. Too early is 6 a.m. And I say this because I have a toddler who is a very light sleeper!"
"With different work schedules and demands, that is a tough question. Neighbors should understand that."
"I have a small snow blower and if continuously snowed all night, I'd be out at 2-3 a.m. if necessary to keep up with it. And if my neighbors were doing the same, more power to them! It's not like our windows are open."
What do you think? Should people be respectful of their neighbors and turn off the snow blowers during certain times of the day? Let us know in the comments section.
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Barbara W. Genge
5:04 pm on Monday, March 4, 2013
snow requiring a snow blower doesn't happen all that frequently, especially this winter. People who are shift workers ie, fireman, policemen, nurses may have a 24 hr call responsibility requqiring them to respond to duty in a time frame, they may need to snow blow more frequently to be able to get out quickly in an emergency regardless of the hour. With snow sometimes being refered to as 'heart attack snow' , it's better to do 2-3 inches at a time vs 6-9 inches or more. Tolerance is what is needed here.