Fall is here and winter will arrive before we know it. With the arrival of cooler weather comes our list of 20 ways to use a tarp as cold weather, falling leaves, and snow arrive.
- Lawn Clean-Up
Foliage is peaking in some areas, and we all know what happens next. As the leaves and pine needles start to fall, many of us start cleaning our yards. Use tarps to make cleanup simple. Use a rake or leaf blower and get the leaves onto the center of an affordable blue poly tarp. A 5’ x 7’ tarp should suffice, though we do offer sizes as large as 100’ x 100’. Pull the tarp to your compost pile or bin and deposit the leaves without leaving a mess behind.
- Pool Cover
Have you taken steps to protect your pool for the winter? It’s time. Get a vinyl tarp over your pool before the leaves start falling. Choose a UV-treated white heavy-duty poly tarp to cover your pool. These tarps protect against mildew and are water-resistant. Purchase them in sizes as large as 40’ x 60’ or in a custom size if our ten sizes don’t match your needs.
- Firewood Protection
With heating fuel, propane, and kerosene prices increasing, many homeowners are turning to firewood as an optional heat source this winter. Keep your firewood dry and free of ice and snow by covering your wood stack with a heavy-duty brown/green poly tarp. They’re a bit more durable than a blue tarp, so they stand up to wind and the weight of snow and ice better.
- Patio Furniture Covers
Iron Horse tarps are our favorite for covering patio furniture for the winter. The tarps are breathable and waterproof. Best of all, they don’t have an odor and they won’t stain items stored under them, so your deck and patio furniture aren’t going to stain or become discolored.
- Shrub Protection
When road crews spread salt or brine on icy, snow-covered roads, that brine and salt can destroy your shrubs that are near the road. Protect them from the salt and brine by wrapping them in burlap or old sheets first for insulation and then covering them in a blue poly tarp.
- Wind Blocking Deck or Patio Walls
You’ve talked about putting up walls and extending the use of your covered deck or porch through the fall and winter. With Clear PVC curtains, you can block out rain, cold air, snow, and wind without having to forfeit the light on a sunny day. Get our clear PVC curtains in custom sizes or up to 10’ x 12’ or 8’ x 20’.
- Sealing Up Drafty Patio Doors
You’re tired of cold drafts coming around an inefficient patio door. It’s not surprising, patio doors, even newer ones, do have a lot of glass that’s exposed to outdoor temperatures. Install clear PVC curtains on the inside or outside of your home. It blocks cold drafts without blocking out the sunlight. If you install the clear tarp inside using Velcro strips, you can keep them up in the summer when the AC is running and keep cold air inside, too.
- Roof Covers
The last thing you want is to find a water spot on your ceiling. Many roofers can’t do a thing until the snow and ice melt away for them to safely go up to replace your shingles or fix leaks. What you need is a tarp that repels water and doesn’t get damaged by exposure to UV rays. Choose a silver UVR heavy-duty poly tarp to protect your home until roofers can do their job.
- Landscaping
The best time to prune trees is when they’re dormant. Once the leaves fall off, prune branches and shape trees. A blue poly tarp is an excellent tool for keeping the branches off your grass. If you’re using a wood chipper to convert the removed branches to mulch at the same time. Have a tarp set up to catch the wood chips until you need them.
- Boat and Car Covers
Your convertible or classic car can’t be left in the open all winter. Boats need to be cleaned up, lifted from the water, and stored until spring. You need to protect the finish from rain, snow, and ice. You need a tarp that will not stain the finish, and the best tarp for that is an Iron Horse polyester tarp. It won’t stain, has no odor, is waterproof, and won’t allow water through. Get them in sizes of up to 20’ x 20’ or custom sizes.
- Winter Camping
Some people love camping during the winter months. A campfire and tent heater keep you plenty warm enough, and a fire-retardant canvas tarp keeps camping supplies dry. If a spark flies from the nearby campfire, you don’t have to worry about the tarp catching on fire. Clear plastic tarps are ideal for forming insulating coverings that block the wind at your tent entry area or canopy cover.
- Winter Worksites
Construction projects often go year-round, and it can be cold for the workers when it’s cool and windy. Put up clear PVC tarps to block the winds and cold air without blocking the light.
- Sports Equipment
Cover summer sports equipment like bicycles, ATVs, goalposts, balls, and bats for the winter. Put them off the ground on skids and cover them in an Iron Horse poly tarp. As it’s breathable tarp fabric, mold and mildew are unlikely to form, and the equipment is protected from ice and snow.
- Hay Covers
Keep your crops dry by covering your bales with vinyl tarps. A barn roof may leak, and that can destroy your hay. If it gets wet and moldy, it’s no good for the animals. Keep it dry with our vinyl tarps that come in sizes up to 10’ x 20’.
- Pond Protection
Do you have a pond in your backyard? Fish, frogs, and turtles will settle into the silt for the winter, but you can also cover the top of the pond to keep sticks from falling in. A UV-blocking white poly tarp is a great choice for covering a pond.
- Wood Pellet Storage
When you order a pallet of wood pellets, they come shrink-wrapped in plastic. If moisture gets into your pellets, it can quickly destroy a bag. Cover your skid of pellets with a waterproof vinyl tarp to keep rain or melting snow from destroying your pellets.
- Farm Equipment Covers
Your tractors, rototillers, and other farm and yard equipment may be exposed to the elements all winter. Protect it by covering it in an Iron Horse polyester tarp. Water won’t get through and the tarp allows air flow to prevent condensation that can lead to rust. It’s also a non-staining tarp, so you don’t have to worry about stains.
- Crop Protection
Over the winter, you do have some crops that will come back in the spring. Garlic, asparagus, and rhubarb are examples, put a layer of mulch over them and then cover that with a blue poly tarp. The tarp protects the mulch from blowing away.
- Chicken Coops
As the weather gets colder, you need to make sure your chickens are warm, but they also need some space to move around. Use clear PVC outside their fenced run to block winds. Cover the top of their pen with a waterproof Iron Horse tarp and air can escape, preventing condensation, but the waterproof covering blocks rain and keeps snow from building up in their pen.
- Grill Covers
You don’t have room inside your garage for your gas grill. Keep it dry and free of ice and snow by covering it in a waterproof tarp. The reason we recommend an Iron Horse polyester tarp is that a warm grill in cold weather will form condensation. That sweating can rust the interior components like burners and grates.
Find the best tarp for your fall and winter projects at Chicago Canvas & Supply. We offer huge savings on every tarp we offer, and we offer price matches if you find a cheaper price on the exact same type, color, and size of tarp at an online competitor. You won’t find better prices or quality than our line of tarps made in the USA.