Heattrak Stair Mats [5 stars]

I love winter, I love snow - I HATE ice...

My situation: (1) I live at 10,000 feet in the Colorado high country; (2) I have 12 concrete steps leading to my front door; (3) the steps are uncovered and shaded by the house - they NEVER see sunlight.

My problem: Unless I shovel 24x7, the stairs get horrible ice buildup in the winter. Even if I shovel, the snow at the sides of the stairs melts during spring days and then freezes into sheets of ice across the stairs every night.

My solution: I installed Heattrak Stair Mats on my stairs and have NEVER been happier!

I am starting my second winter with these mats and they are up to the challenge (yes, I have already had over 1 foot of snow by November 1st ;-)   The mats work good enough that I turn them off every night and then, if I see any ice buildup or fresh snow the next morning I turn them back on. Within 1-2 hours my stairs will be passable without the danger of ice - that's a pretty good track record against the harshness of Colorado winters at 10,000 feet.

If you are considering installing Heattrak Stair Mats, a few lessons I learned:

1. I cannot connect more than 7 mats to a single control unit without the control tripping way too frequently. So, if you have more than 7 stairs/mats, you will want to get additional control units. The control units can be bought separately, if needed.
2. Even when connected to 7 or fewer mats, the control unit will trip occasionally. There is a simple "reset button" on each unit and you will need to press that button to re-enable the mats. So, when you put your mats in place, make sure you have easy access to the control unit for quick/infrequent resets.

My "7 mats to a control unit" and "occasional reset" may be a factor that I am using these mats in about as harsh an environment as you can imagine. So, you may be able to string more mats together in lesser conditions. Nevertheless, an extra control unit and an occasional reset and I have 12 of the hardest stairs to maintain completely under control - 5 stars!