Winter is coming!

It’s always a good idea to learn about what to do to prepare your home for the winter.

Here are some brilliant ideas from LifeHacker: How to properly De-Ice Your Home

Buy the right ice melting product for your driveway and walkways.

There are many other choices than plain rock salt depending on your concerns:

Eco-friendly, safe on concrete, gentle on landscaping, no residue, pet-friendly, non-corrosive, LEED compliant…etc.

• Know how much ice melt you need.

Check the instructions for the specific product you buy.

Know how much area you need to cover, and how many times you will need to cover it.

• Use the ice melt the right way

Pre-treat your walkway and driveways before it snows. Mix a little sand with ice melt can provide traction.

Remove snow before using ice melt.

• Prevent and clear ice dam on your roof

Ice dams prevent water runoff from flowing to the ground below, they can tear off gutters, loosen shingles, and lead to leaks when snow melts.

Buy roof rakes or DIY Snow ripper to clear the snow off rooftop after each snowstorm.

For more detailed information, please click here: https://goo.gly9mD9g

Happy BC Day!

Our office will be closed for BC Day on August 7^th. It is a statutory holiday observed in the province of British Columbia. This day is also celebrated by other provinces as Civic/Provincial Day. It is celebrated on the first Monday in the month of August.

The first British Columbia day Act was introduced in 1974. The main aim of this statutory holiday was to pay respect to the forerunners of the land. This day is of immense importance to celebrate the local culture, history and development throughout the years. After the tributes on Monday, we will reopen on Tuesday, August 8^th.

We have PLEEEEEEENTY of stock

As many of you already know we were hit by an extended period of snow and ice on the West Coast of Canada.

During this time many of our competitors failed to keep up with the demand, which resulted in lead times ranging in the weeks and sometimes months.

However, we were able to ensure all of our customers received their icemelter and were also able to secure many new customers as well. You can be rest assured that all our warehouses will remain well stocked throughout the winter, no matter the weather conditions.

New Product: Winter Warrior Enviro LEADer Icemelter™

Winter Warrior Enviro LEADer Icemelter ™ is the Superior ECO De-icer, designed specifically to be used around all Green Buildings / Properties, where there are environmental or corrosion concerns.

– Powerful to -21 C (-6 F)
– Contains CMA
– For use around Green Buildings
– Safest for the Environment
– Green Color
– Non-Corrosive
– Safe on Concrete
– Easy to Apply

Find out more at XYNYTH.COM.

Beet This!

With the declining supply of road salt and the higher prices, many communities are switching to a more cost efficient, and yet environmentally friendly solution.
Beat juice, apparently, is a very Eco-friendly solution to deicing the dangerous winter road conditions, not to mention cost efficient as well. Although this concept isn’t new, more and more communities are adapting to this method. Road salts, originally thought to be cheap, come with many consequences such as the damage done to wildlife including poison to fish, damage to aquatic wildlife, and harmful to sensitive vegetation. Other detriments include damage to concrete and metals. On the other hand, beet juice can provide an effective performance to temperatures dropping as low as -25ºC or approximately -13ºF.

1. Adding beet juice to salt brine — even at a 20% concentration — does not increase the salt brine’s ice-melting properties or decrease the temperature at which it is effective.
2. Beet juice reduces the friction of a salt brine solution by 10% – 20%. This translates to slicker roads and more dangerous driving conditions.
3. 25% beet juice concentration is required to lower salt brine’s corrosion score to meet PNS specifications. However, it will also reduce the brine’s ice melting properties. So when beet juice is used as a corrosion inhibitor, application rates should be increased in direct proportion to the amount of beet juice added. Higher concentrations of beet juice also mean higher costs.

It is important to note that beet juice is not a substitute for road salt, but serve as a complimentary resource. It can reduce the salt usage from 85kg per lane km to just 79 kg per lane km, which can effectively save about $2 per lane km. But even beet juice isn’t completely innocuous. Adding it to water can have an impact says  “Organic matter—anything from leaves to amino acids—anything carbon based that breaks down, needs to consume oxygen,” Oxygen-depleted water can also come at an environmental cost, killing animal and plant life. In one of the most extreme cases of oxygen depletion, known as hypoxia, more than 22,000 square km in the Gulf of Mexico lost much of its commercial fishing industry. The beets, which have a high concentration of sucrose, are grown commercially as a sweetener. However, the sugar must be removed for the juice to be sold as a de-icing agent. “If sugared, you are going to pull animals to the roadway,” “If it is sugared and you store it, it will ferment like beer.”

As the environment is of such importance to many cities, environmental icemelters.  Mountain Organic Natural™ Icemelter is a fertilizer based icemelter that is effective to -23ºC or approximate 9ºF.  It is safe on the vegetation, landscaping, children, pets and the water systems. Also Winter Warrior Runway Control™  is totally Chloride and Urea free which means that it will not damage concrete or metal. As opposed to Beet Juice that you need to mix with salt brine, Mountain Organic Natural™ Icemelter & Winter Warrior Runway Control™  do not require to be mixed with any other product allowing Cities to receive and begin using  the product right away.

2014 Long Range Winter Forecast – from the Farmers’ Almanac

U.S. Weather Highlights – Frigid Winter with Bitter Cold and Heavy Snow

A large area of below-normal temperatures will predominate from roughly east of the Continental Divide to the Appalachians, north and east through New England. Coldest temperatures will be over the Northern Plains on east into the Great Lakes. Only for the Far West and the Southeast will there be a semblance of winter temperatures averaging close to normal, but only a few areas will enjoy many days where temperatures will average above normal.

 Significant snowfalls are forecast for parts of every zone. Over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states,“red-flagging” the first ten days of February for possible heavy winter weather.

 And mid-March could bring a wave of storminess stretching almost from coast to coast, bringing a wide variety of precipitation types as well as strong and gusty winds.

 

 

Canada Weather Highlights – Forecasts a Hodgepodge of Winter Weather

A large area of below-normal temperatures will predominate from roughly east of the Rocky Mountains to the Eastern Great Lakes. Coldest temperatures will run south and east across the Laurentian Plateau to the Great Lakes. Only along the Pacific Coast and Maritime Provinces will winter temperatures average close to normal.

Precipitation-wise, drier than normal precipitation amounts are expected over British Columbia—an anomaly of sorts, since wet weather is usually the norm during the winter season. Meanwhile over the Prairies near-normal precipitation amounts are expected. Ontario and Quebec could be in for a snowy winter season while farther east, the Maritimes could vacillate between bouts of rain and snow.

Significant snowfalls are forecast for parts of every zone. Over Quebec and the Maritimes, the first two weeks of February could be in for possible heavy winter weather. This particular part of the winter season will be notably volatile.

 And mid-March could bring a wave of storminess stretching almost from coast to coast, bringing a wide variety of precipitation types as well as strong and gusty winds.­

Ice melter and protecting our water systems

ICE MELTER AND PROTECTING OUR WATER SYSTEMS

 It has long been established that the use of rock salt has negative effects on the environment.  In fact there are documented cases of contamination to drinking water and complete destruction of aquatic Eco systems due to excessive salt use.  Samples from a storm sewer near Toronto had recorded levels 140 times over the limit set by the provincial Government. Both Environment Canada and the Environment Protection Agency in the U.S. have done studies and are working on solutions to manage this problem. The salt and other chemicals get into the water system through a number of direct and indirect ways.  Once the salt gets into the Eco system, there is no way of removing it.  It can only be diluted over time.  This can be very problematic for sensitive Eco systems that have a slow turnover of fresh water such as natural and even artificial ponds.

The best solution for this matter is to take preventative measures. XYNYTH Manufacturing has developed 3 products that are ideal to address this issue.  GroundWorks Natural Icemelter™ and Mountain Organic Natural Icemelter™ were among the first environmentally friendly ice melt products to be introduced. These are fertilizer based icemelters, making them an ideal alternative for Eco sensitive areas.  Because they contain potassium chloride, the run off will actually feed the plants. This ultimately means less sodium chloride will get into the water supply.

It should be noted that icemelters containing urea should be strictly avoided around water ways.  Urea contains nitrogen and breaks down to ammonia in the environment, which is extremely toxic to aquatic life, even in small doses.

XYNYTH has recently introduced a new product called Winter Warrior Runway Control™. This product is completely chloride free and urea free.  While it was initially designed for runway use, being that it is completely non-corrosive and federally approved, it is also ideal for use around sensitive water systems.
It is important to not associate all “pet friendly” icemelters with fish friendly products. Some products like Safe-t-Pet™ or Safe Paw™ are made with urea.  While urea is usually safe around animals, it is deadly to aquatic life.

A little chloride is not so bad, as it seems to be well known by owners of fish ponds that adding some chlorides can be beneficial to act as water softeners and help reduce parasites.  Some experts also recommend using potassium based chlorides as they have some benefits to fish.   For best results consult your local expert.