# Snow Blower Floor/Garage Mat



## ggreenfield (Nov 23, 2017)

Anyone parking their blowers on mats in their garage to help control the melting snow and water? What are you using? I've found purpose built mats by Ariens and WeatherTech ... but at a premium $ ... I've been looking into larger boot/shoe mats but most stores dont carry any larger than 30" wide. Need at least 32" wide to fit my blowers auger and skid shoes. Ive found a few online but before ordering I'd figure I'd check with you guys! Any other ideas?

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## Jae0 (Jan 6, 2017)

I picked up a thick rubber mat with deep diagonal grooves from Home Depot. Works great for the job. There should be lots of similar options at this time of year.


----------



## Miles (Sep 16, 2016)

FH Group F16407-40 Black 40" Premium Multi-Use Cargo Tray (Car SUV and Garage Trunk Mat) Amazon, $35
This has a raised lip all around it and holds a good deal of water. 40"x32"x1.6" It is not a thick rubber mat, but is much thinner.


----------



## trellis (Mar 14, 2018)

funny... I was just at Lowes looking for an entrance mat for the house and I saw a rubber mat that I was considering to replace a rubber stall mat (from TSC) that I use for my snowthrower. The one from Lowes has some depth so it could hold some of the water whereas the stall mat is flat. And it was relatively cheap compared to the branded mats.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Mohawk-Hom...n-3-ft-x-4-ft-Actual-48-in-x-36-in/1000265875


----------



## ggreenfield (Nov 23, 2017)

trellis said:


> funny... I was just at Lowes looking for an entrance mat for the house and I saw a rubber mat that I was considering to replace a rubber stall mat (from TSC) that I use for my snowthrower. The one from Lowes has some depth so it could hold some of the water whereas the stall mat is flat. And it was relatively cheap compared to the branded mats.
> 
> https://www.lowes.com/pd/Mohawk-Hom...n-3-ft-x-4-ft-Actual-48-in-x-36-in/1000265875


Dang it! I knew I should have stuck it out with the kids for another 5mins! The kids and I went to Lowes earlier today and I had plans on looking at mats there but the kids were definitely low on paitance so I decided to just grab what I needed and get home lol!

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk


----------



## vmax29 (Oct 19, 2017)

A good friend of mine runs heavy machinery. He gave me a piece of scrap conveyor belt from a sand plant. It is about 3/4 thick 4x8 foot. I have been parking and working on my snow blowers and lawn tractors on it for 25 years. It looks as good as the day we dropped it there.


----------



## Lunta (Dec 14, 2017)

Or just keep it outside, if it's -5 or below. And save the cost of paying to warm up 150+Kg of metal.

And depending how warm your garage is and how good the ventilation is, you risk allowing all the (harmless) snow/ice to melt in to water, which can then cause rusting over time.


----------



## Mavaholic (Mar 13, 2018)

No mat...I use a treated 1x4 under the skids and position it near the floor drain.


----------



## z28lt1 (Oct 18, 2018)

I brush the blower off before putting it in the garage and then park it right on the floor(with the front on a 2x4). Turns out, its the same thing I do with the car (minus the brushing part). My floor is coated and it gets cleaned in the spring. The car with all it's salt and stuff makes a much bigger mess than the snow blower.


----------



## broo (Dec 23, 2017)

When I parked my snowblower in my heated garage a few years ago, I parked it right over the floor drain. That minimized the floor mess.



Now that it's in the unheated shed on a concrete floor, there is no drain, but I run a garage dehumidifier which is in fact a humidity controlled fan with an output that looks just like a dryer's outside the shed. Seems to be doing a pretty good job. It slowly evacuates humidity outside, just enough that there is very little ice forming under the machine.


----------



## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

Lunta said:


> Or just keep it outside, if it's -5 or below. And save the cost of paying to warm up 150+Kg of metal.
> 
> And depending how warm your garage is and how good the ventilation is, you risk allowing all the (harmless) snow/ice to melt in to water, which can then cause rusting over time.


This is why I run a dehumidifier in my heated garage. Heat is kept in the mid 40s in the winter. Dehumidifier doesn't run much, but if snow melt, etc. starts to make it too humid it'll pull some moisture out of the air to control it.


----------



## cdestuck (Jan 20, 2013)

Call me anal but before I bring it in the garage after using it, I put the blower in the yard, hose it all down to get any snow off of it. Then back it in the garage. No mess


----------



## RIT333 (Feb 6, 2014)

cdestuck said:


> Call me anal but before I bring it in the garage after using it, I put the blower in the yard, hose it all down to get any snow off of it. Then back it in the garage. No mess



I put my hose away in early Nov. How are you able to run a hose in the Winter. I might consider a 2 gallon pump sprayer, but never use my hose in freezing weather.


----------



## Smolenski7 (Nov 24, 2010)

cdestuck said:


> Call me anal but before I bring it in the garage after using it, I put the blower in the yard, hose it all down to get any snow off of it. Then back it in the garage. No mess





Anal.....LOL


And, I have to ask too, how do you use a hose in the winter? That spiket should be turned off and at very least the hose should be drained.


----------



## guybb3 (Jan 31, 2014)

I was thinking of using a washing machine tray.


----------



## Randy in Maine (Nov 17, 2018)

I went to Tractor Supply and bought some sort of a plastic rabbit cage liner about 36" x 24" and about 1" tall. It slides under a little "pallet" type thing I built out of scrap wood I had in the shop that fits over it. I just park the snowblower on top of it and empty the liner every now and then. 

One of my buddies used a plastic washing machine liner that was a little cheaper but I built mine first and never thought of that. I will figure out how to post a picture here soon.


----------



## rslifkin (Mar 5, 2018)

I could pull the hose out to rinse off the blower. I have a hot water spigot and it's one of the non-freezing types, so as long as I disconnect the hose and put it in the garage after use it would work fine, but it's not worth the effort. I just brush most of the snow off the blower before bringing it into the garage and let the rest melt.


----------



## RedOctobyr (Mar 2, 2014)

Thanks for the Lowes mat link, I'll have to check that out. The washing machine tray is interesting, but are they durable enough to withstand the blower driving on/off them? As a plastic tray, I wonder if it would eventually crack, from flexing the raised lip.


----------



## dr bob (Dec 12, 2015)

Mine sits on a small Harbor Freight furniture dolly between appearances. Gets the scarper and bucket off the floor so no rust issues. It gets parked then next to the door on the inside, so the melt-off heads for the door. The doly makes it super easy to move the machine around in the garage. Takes seconds to get it loaded on the dolly. $8 on regular sale.


----------



## cdestuck (Jan 20, 2013)

RIT333 said:


> I put my hose away in early Nov. How are you able to run a hose in the Winter. I might consider a 2 gallon pump sprayer, but never use my hose in freezing weather.





Smolenski7 said:


> Anal.....LOL
> 
> 
> And, I have to ask too, how do you use a hose in the winter? That spiket should be turned off and at very least the hose should be drained.




Well call me anal again but after each use of the hose, I completely drain it of any water to avoid any possibility of it freezing. I have a Y shut off on the sillcock and before coiling the hose on the rack I open both levers on the Y and the water drains as I coil the hose. Too easy


----------

