Professional Snow Removal Tips for Boston Weather
Lessons from Two Decades of Property Management
As a property management professional with over 20 years of experience navigating New England winters, I’ve learned that successful snow removal means preventing lawsuits, protecting the physical building, and maintaining tenant relationships. Snow removal is a 24/7 business that can take a self-managing property owner hostage when snow or freezing rain arrives. Beyond developing a robust snow removal plan, you need information and redundancies if things go SNAFU.
Pro Tip: Stock Up on Ice Melt NOW — Before Prices Spike
Ice melt prices increase significantly midway through the season as demand surges and supply tightens. Right now, before the first major snowfall, is the time to act and stock up. By January, you could pay 20-40% more for the same product.
Pro Tip: Get the Right Ice Melt for the Job
Not all ice melt products are created equal. After two decades of testing products across thousands of New England apartments and commercial properties, here’s what works:
Best choice: Magnesium Chloride is the superior option for stairs and walkways. It has a low melting temperature (-13°F / -25°C), works fast, and handles freeze-thaw cycles exceptionally well (#1 cause of the majority of slip-and-fall claims). It’s also pet-friendly, which matters when you have tenants or neighbors with animals, landscape safe. and lighter weight than alternative products.
Downside: it is the most expensive option and can require more material than calcium chloride or salt.
Second best: Calcium Chloride is typically pet-friendly, and commonly available at most hardware stores. It causes less landscaping damage than salt, but more than magnesium chloride. While calcium chloride by itself has a low melting temperature (-20°F / -23°C) it is often blended with other materials, like straight salt.
Downside: Corrosive to metal. Clumps together when not stored or spread correctly.
Other: Salt-based ice melts and rock salt. Despite being cheap and fast-acting, they corrode concrete and wood, strip paint, leave white residue, and are unsafe for pets. The short-term savings aren’t worth the long-term property damage. I recommend not using salt-based products on walkways or stairs if other products are available.
Other: Play Sand. Often overlooked, play sand is great at creating a top friction layer on ice. While a bit messy if tracked indoors, it is completely safe to concrete and site on top of the ice instead of sinking into it. Keep a bucket of this handy for emergencies.
Note on dyed products: I generally don’t recommend dyed ice melt products.
For driveways and parking lots, use a sand-salt mix. This provides excellent traction and is the professional standard for driveways and parking lots. Save your ice melt for walkways where pedestrian safety is paramount.
Set Up Your Tenants for Success
Your tenants are your first line of defense against slip-and-fall incidents between professional treatments. Place ice melt in handheld spreader containers that tenants can easily grab and use on walkways, steps, and entryways. Position these near main entrances where they’re clearly visible and always refilled.
Why Insured Contractors Are Worth Double the Price
I hear it constantly: Why should I pay a professional contractor $70 when the neighborhood guy will do it for $30 Here’s why that extra $40 per service is one of the smartest investments you’ll make:
A. The cost of litigation when a tenant slips far exceeds your seasonal snow removal budget. Consider this: if you pay $70 per service instead of $30 and receive 10 services over a winter, you’ve spent an extra $400. That $400 buys you significant liability protection and reliable service. A single slip-and-fall lawsuit costs tens of thousands in legal fees alone, plus potential settlements.
B. The Vendor’s Insurance provides a critical layer of protection for property owners. When an uninsured contractor damages your property, injures themselves, or fails to adequately clear a walkway where someone slips, you’re exposed to significant liability. Professional, insured contractors transfer much of that risk away from you.
C. Insurance is also an excellent qualifier for separating true professionals from casual operators. This becomes crucial during the demanding 24/7 nature of snow removal. The random one-off guy is prone to getting sick, injured, exhausted, or a truck breakdown. Professional vendors are far more likely to show up reliably, have multiple crews, keep backup equipment, and communicate. Always verify contractor insurance and request a certificate of insurance naming you as an additional insured. If a contractor can’t produce proof of insurance, walk away.
Document Everything—Pictures Are Your Legal Protection
In Massachusetts, a tenant can sue three (3) years after an accident! Keep records, work with reliable vendors, establish tenant expectations, and stay in contact with all parties! Your snow log should include the date and conditions of the snow/freeze event, pictures and times of removal, and any tenant communications before, during, and after. If you have to appear before a judge, your records are one of your best defenses.
Your contractor should provide documentation after every service that includes:
Multiple-angle photographs showing cleared areas
Date and specific time ice melt was applied
Type of ice melt product used
Current weather conditions
Ideally, this arrives via text message immediately after service, creating a timestamped record. Photos showing bare, treated pavement at specific times become powerful evidence if someone claims they slipped on an icy walkway. Keep your own records as well. Maintain a winter weather log noting when storms occurred, when services were performed, and any tenant reports of conditions. This redundancy strengthens your protection.
Understanding the One-Inch Threshold
Professional snow removal companies typically don’t recommend removal for snow accumulations under one inch. Why? That thin layer of snow actually creates additional traction for pedestrians and can be safer than bare pavement. However, there’s a critical exception: When you get freezing precipitation—that light dusting that then freezes into a hard, slippery surface—immediate removal and ice melt application are essential. This “flash freeze” scenario is actually more dangerous than several inches of snow. When light snow freezes into an ice-bonded layer, the one-inch threshold doesn’t apply.
Freeze-Thaw Cycles: Boston’ s Unique Challenge
Freeze-thaw cycles occur when temperatures rise above freezing during the day, melting snow and ice, then drop below freezing at night, refreezing that meltwater into new ice. This creates treacherous “black ice” that’s difficult to see and appears in areas that were clear hours earlier. This is precisely why magnesium chloride’s superior performance in freeze-thaw conditions justifies its premium price. Rock salt becomes ineffective as temperatures fluctuate. Magnesium chloride works at much lower temperatures and remains active through temperature changes, preventing dangerous refreezing. Managing freeze-thaw cycles requires more frequent ice melt applications, even when no new snow has fallen. The three days following a storm, when temperatures are fluctuating, often present more slip-and-fall risk than the storm itself.
Municipal Fines and Legal Framework
City and town ordinances require property owners to maintain safe walkways. Most Boston-area jurisdictions require sidewalks cleared within 6 to 12 hours after snow stops falling. Failure to comply results in municipal fines, typically starting around $50-$100 and increasing for repeat violations. These fines compound your costs while doing nothing to protect you from liability. Worse, citations for snow removal violations become powerful evidence against you if someone slips and falls. The cost of litigation when a tenant or visitor slips far exceeds any snow removal expenses. Slip-and-fall lawsuits cost tens of thousands in legal fees to defend, plus potential settlements that can reach six figures for serious injuries. Courts and insurance companies look at whether you acted reasonably—did you hire qualified contractors, have a regular service schedule, and document your maintenance? Winter preparation starts before the first snowflake. With professional planning and the right partnerships, you can protect your property, your tenants, and your peace of mind throughout the Boston winter season.
If you have questions about professional snow removal strategies or are interested in a property management service agreement that takes winter weather off your plate entirely, reach out. After two decades of managing Boston properties through countless Nor’easters, we’ve refined systems that work.