A practical winter guide for Des Moines homes: how to stop road salt from reaching your floors, what the metro sidewalk rules ask of you, how to handle wet gear and dry furnace air, and what to do when the thaw finally comes.
Winter in Des Moines lasts long enough to shape a household's whole routine. Snow, freezing nights and de-icing products mean a steady stream of residue crossing the threshold for months at a time.
Most of the fight happens within a few feet of the door. Here is how to keep that mess from spreading, using local numbers and rules.
The numbers explain the routine. Des Moines averages 36.5 inches of snow a year, 27.5 of it between December and February. About 25 days see at least a tenth of an inch of new snow, and about 52 have an inch or more on the ground. The city also averages about 128 nights at or below freezing and about 45 days when the high stays below freezing, with about 10 nights below zero.
Each snow means shovels, salt and boots. In January, with an average temperature of 22.3 degrees, ice lingers, and so does whatever people spread to melt it. That residue travels on shoes, dog paws and wheels. It dries white on tile, hazes hardwood and collects in carpet closest to the door. Left alone for a few weeks, it gets ground in by foot traffic and becomes harder to lift.
Clearing the walk matters inside too, because the less you walk through, the less you bring in. It is also required. Des Moines wants sidewalks cleared within 48 hours after snowfall ends. Ankeny property owners have 24 hours after snow stops falling, and Waukee gives abutting owners 24 hours after a storm ends and asks them to sprinkle salt, sand or something similar on ice that cannot be removed.
Use the smallest amount of salt that gets the job done, since extra product simply ends up indoors. Sand is gentler on floors, though it is more abrasive underfoot, so sweep entries more often if you rely on it. In Ankeny's Prairie Trail district, on-street parking is banned from 2 to 6 a.m. during a declared snow ordinance, which is one more thing to plan for if a cleaner or guest parks there.
The most effective winter cleaning happens before dirt gets past the first few feet of floor.
With about 45 days when the high stays below freezing, windows mostly stay shut. Dust settles on fan blades, door tops and blinds, and furnace registers move it around. Vacuum registers monthly and dust from the top of each room downward, so whatever falls lands on floors you have yet to clean. House centipedes favor damp spots, according to Iowa State University Extension, so keep basement laundry areas dry and clear even in the cold months.
A Recurring House Clean makes this easier by handling floors, baths and the kitchen on a set schedule. Once the snow is really finished, a One-Time Deep Clean can wash baseboards by hand and clear window tracks of what accumulated. The full year calendar shows how winter fits with the months after it.
The questions Des Moines homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Des Moines and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
