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Ice Maintenance
In our opinion, all you need for ice maintenance is a wide shovel and a hose.
However, we have seen customers rig together some pretty cool homemade ice
resurfacers, and other rink maintenance tools. If this interests you, we suggest
searching on Youtube or other online platforms for “home-bonies” that can help
maintain the ice.
Shovel and Hose Maintenance:
After a day or night of heavy skating, use a wide shovel to scrape off excess
snow and ice from the rink’s surface. Once the surface is cleared, spray about
⅛
inch of water on the entire surface using a garden hose.
Let the water freeze
completely. The rink will be smooth for the next skate.
MAINTENANCE TIPS:
Snowstorm coming?
Try to shovel the snow off the ice as quickly as possible. Leaving snow on the rink for an
extended period of time will insulate the ice, which will cause it to melt.
Slush on the ice?
It’s best to just leave the slush. Do
not
try to shovel it off or walk on the rink while it is slushy. This
will leave footprints/shovel marks on your ice, which will be difficult to get out later. Instead, wait for temperatures
to drop and for the slush to fully freeze. Then, try one of these methods to even out the surface:
Scrape debris off the ice with a shovel.
Pour hot water on the ice to melt away the debris.
Resurface with a hose for smooth ice.
Leaves falling on the ice?
Remove fallen leaves and other debris from the rink as soon as you can. Even if they
have frozen into your ice, it is best to dig them out. Otherwise, they will attract sunlight and melt a hole in your
ice.
