How to Use a Snow Blower Safely: Patterns, Clogs and Carbon Monoxide

Do the prep on a dry fall afternoon, not at 6 a.m. with 10 inches on the ground. Owner manuals from Honda, Ariens, Toro and EGO all start with the same list: read the manual, learn the controls, and walk the area you will clear.

• Read the operator manual and find three things: how to stop the auger instantly, the maximum slope and the direction the manual tells you to travel on one, and where the clean-out tool is stored.
• Pick up everything the auger could swallow: newspapers, doormats, dog leashes, extension cords, garden hoses, kids' toys, landscape rocks and loose edging. A two-stage auger will throw a frozen newspaper or a rock hard enough to break a window.
• Mark the edges of the driveway, walks, curbs and in-ground sprinkler heads with stakes such as the Anley 48 in. Reflective Driveway Markers, 20 Pack so you do not chew up the lawn or a sprinkler head you cannot see.
• Test-start the machine outdoors with fresh, stabilized fuel, or fully charge the batteries indoors for a cordless model.
• Set the skid shoes for your surface: low for smooth pavement, raised for gravel and pavers (details below).
• Stage your gear: spare shear pins, the clean-out tool, eye and hearing protection, and boots with real tread.

A single-stage snow blower uses one fast-spinning auger that scoops snow and throws it out of the chute in the same motion. A two-stage snow blower uses a slower steel auger to feed an impeller, a fan-like wheel behind the auger that throws the snow out of the chute. The impeller is the part that causes most hand injuries: it sits out of sight inside the housing, and it can keep turning for several seconds after you let go of the handle.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned for years that snow blower injuries are commonly caused by reaching into the chute or auger to clear packed snow. A jam can hold the impeller under tension, and when you pull the clog free the blades can snap around even with the engine off. That is why every manual says to use the clean-out tool and never your hands. The single-stage vs two-stage comparison covers the design differences in more depth.

The best pattern keeps every throw going away from the area you still have to clear, so you never move the same snow twice. Pass counts and times below use the snow clearing time calculator assumptions: a 15 percent overlap, about 120 feet per minute in moderate snow, and 20 seconds per turnaround.

Throw downwind. Snow thrown into the wind blows back over the area you just cleared, onto your face shield and down your collar. Before you start, look at which way loose snow is drifting and plan every pass so the chute points with the wind or across it, never into it.

On a narrow driveway where the machine's throw comfortably clears the full width, start at the downwind edge and work toward the wind, sending each throw across the pavement you have already cleared and onto the lawn beyond. On a wider driveway, use the horseshoe pattern but put all of the snow on the downwind side, turning the chute at each end rather than switching sides. Lower the chute deflector in strong wind so the snow travels in a flatter arc and lands closer to where you aimed. Models with a joystick or trigger chute control, such as the EGO SNT2410 XP and Honda HSS928AAWD, make those constant chute changes far easier than a hand crank.

Deep and wet snow is where clogs, broken shear pins and strained backs happen. The fixes are about pace, not power:

• Take half-width bites. If the snow is deeper than the intake height, run the housing along the edge of the snow so the auger takes only half its width. Two slower passes clear more than one stalled pass.
• Slow the ground speed, keep the engine at full throttle. Two-stage machines throw best at full engine speed. Slow travel gives the impeller time to empty the housing.
• Clear during long storms. Clearing every 6 to 8 inches is easier on you and the machine than clearing 20 inches of settled, heavy snow once.
• Coat the chute and impeller with a silicone spray (with the engine off) to help wet snow slide instead of packing.
• Use drift cutters such as the Ariens Drift Cutter Kit (Set of 2) or EGO Power+ ADC2400 Drift Cutters to slice drift walls taller than the housing.

If your storms are routinely heavy and wet, the machine may simply be undersized. A two-stage with a 20 to 21.7 inch intake and a 45 to 60 foot throw handles slush that stalls a single-stage. See the best snow blowers for heavy wet snow.

The plow berm is the ridge of packed, chunky snow and ice the city plow leaves across your driveway entrance. It can be two or three times as dense as the snow on the driveway, and it freezes hard within hours, so clear it as soon as the plow has been through.

• Use a two-stage machine. Single-stage augers ride up and over packed berms and are not built for ice chunks.
• Attack the berm from the side in narrow bites, one third to one half of the clearing width, rather than ramming it head-on.
• Stop and let the housing empty whenever the engine bogs down. Forcing it is how shear pins break.
• Break up the ice chunks with a steel pusher such as the Garant Nordic NSP24D 24 in. Steel Blade Snow Pusher rather than feeding them to the auger.
• Face oncoming traffic, wear something bright, and never throw snow into the street.

The end-of-driveway plow pile sizing page covers the intake height that handles a typical berm.

Yes, but only a two-stage machine. A single-stage auger touches the ground and will pick up gravel and throw it at high speed, which damages the machine and can injure people or break windows. A two-stage auger rides above the surface on adjustable skid shoes, so you can raise the housing and leave a thin layer of snow over the stones.

Raise the skid shoes to the gravel setting in your manual before the first storm, clear at a slow walk, and keep the chute pointed away from the house, cars and people in case a stone gets through. Early in the season, before the ground freezes, the gravel is soft and gets picked up more easily; many owners let the first storm pack down and freeze into a base. Composite shoes such as the Ariens Reversible Composite Skid Shoe Kit also help protect pavers. The best snow blowers for gravel driveways lists the machines built for it.

Steps: no. Never run a snow blower up or down stairs; it can tip, slide or pull you off balance, and the auger is pointed at your feet on the way down. Use a shovel or an electric snow shovel such as the EGO Power+ SNS1201 12 in. Cordless Snow Shovel Kit, which weighs a fraction of a snow blower and throws snow up to 25 feet. The deck and patio sizing page covers decks, which also need a tool that will not gouge boards.

Slopes: follow the slope limit and travel direction in your operator manual exactly. Snow blower manuals warn against clearing slopes steeper than they allow, and against turning or reversing where the machine could slide. On a steep driveway, go slowly, keep both hands on the controls, never pull the machine back toward your body on a downhill grade, and stop if the wheels start to spin. Track-drive machines such as the Honda HSS928AATD 28 in. Two-Stage Track Snow Blower hold a slope far better than wheels. See the best snow blowers for steep driveways and the track vs wheel comparison.

Every snow blower manual gives the same sequence, and it is the most important safety rule in this guide. Never clear a clog with your hands, even with gloves, even with the engine off.

1. Release the auger and drive controls.
2. Shut the engine off and remove the key. On a battery machine, turn it off and remove the safety key and the battery.
3. Wait until the auger and impeller have completely stopped, then wait a few seconds more.
4. For a gas machine with a deep jam, disconnect the spark plug wire before reaching near the housing.
5. Use the clean-out tool, or a broom handle if the tool is missing, to break up the packed snow in the chute and housing.
6. If the auger hit something solid, check the shear pins and look for the object before restarting.
7. Reconnect, make sure everyone is clear of the chute, then restart.

A clog is a sign to change technique: slower ground speed, half-width bites, full throttle, and a silicone coating on the chute.

• Boots with deep tread. Most falls happen on packed snow under the machine or on ice under the berm.
• Eye protection. Snow blowers kick up ice pellets and grit; anti-fog glasses such as the NoCry Clear Anti-Fog Safety Glasses work under a hat.
• Hearing protection for gas machines, which are loud enough over a long session that most manuals recommend it. Earmuffs like the Pro For Sho 34dB NRR Ear Muffs fit over a knit cap.
• Nothing loose: tuck in scarves, drawstrings and long hair. Anything that dangles can be pulled into the auger.
• Reflective or bright outerwear when clearing near the street at dawn or dusk.

Cold, heavy work also strains the heart. If you have a heart condition, ask your doctor before clearing snow, take breaks, and let the machine do the pushing. Self-propelled models with power steering reduce the effort significantly.

Keep children and pets indoors, or well away from the area you are clearing, every time the machine runs. Never let children operate a snow blower, ride on one or walk beside it. The chute can throw ice chunks and gravel 30 to 60 feet, so never point it toward people, pets, cars, windows or the street.

The less obvious hazard is the snowbank itself. Children love to dig forts and tunnels in the piles along the driveway, and those are exactly the piles you and the plow add to. Tell kids those piles are off limits, check them before you clear, and knock down any tunnels. After dark, a child in a white snowsuit in a snowbank is very hard to see.