Get ready for the cold weather by building your winter maintenance kit in three simple steps
When the first frost hits, you don’t want to be the one slipping over at the school gate or the shop door, and if you are responsible for people coming to your premises, you certainly don’t want them hurting themselves. So it’s important to get ahead of the cold snap by building your winter maintenance kit now, and that means deciding what the best grit bin, rock salt and spreader is for your needs.
The process is quite simple: pick a grit bin, fill it with gritting salt, and decide how you will spread it. But with so many options available, we’ve put together a simple guide that walks you through each step, ensuring you buy the right type and amount first time, with no last-minute panic when the forecast suddenly turns.
- Don’t miss our comprehensive guide covering everything you need to know about grit bins in the UK
Step 1: Pick your grit bin
The first thing to consider is where your grit bin is going, and how much ground it needs to cover. Whether it’s just for your home or for a large car park, we have a range of options available for every situation, listed for easy decision-making:
| Where | Bin size | Our most popular picks |
| Doorstep, small path or home | 50–110 litres | 2 Cu Ft recycled grit bin (50 L) EverTough 110 L lockable grit bin |
| Shop front, office entrance or small car park | 175–200 litres | EverTough 200 L lockable grit bin 6 Cu Ft recycled grit bin (175 L) Pathfinder 200 L lockable grit bin |
| School, care home, business park or larger car park | 400 litres | EverTough 400 L lockable grit bin 14 Cu Ft heavy duty recycled grit bin (400 L / 500 kg) |
Helpful Tips
- Keep in mind the general rule that 1 litre of grit bin space equates to about 1kg of rock salt
- To make your life easier, opt for a slightly larger bin than you need, as bigger bins mean fewer refills when it’s cold, and you avoid the headache of potentially running out halfway through a long cold spell.
- If placed somewhere public, select a lockable grit bin so your salt is still there when you need it
- Put the bin where you think you’ll actually use it, for example by the entrance, the steps or the slope. Don’t put it somewhere no one wants to walk in the dark.
Step 2: Fill it with salt (and how much you need)
When choosing salt, you need to consider what you need it for. White de-icing salt won’t leave brown marks on paving, entrances or shop fronts, while the classic brown rock salt will provide extra grip underfoot.
Non-corrosive de-icer is best for areas near vehicles, metal or delicate surfaces where you’d rather not use salt.
| Bin size | 25 kg bags to fill it |
| 50 L | 2 bags |
| 110 L | 4–5 bags |
| 175 L | 7 bags |
| 200 L | 8 bags |
| 400 L | 16 bags (up to 20 in a 500 kg-capacity bin), or two 400 L bins from a 1-tonne pallet with salt left for top-ups |
Helpful Tips
- If you’re buying for a bigger site, buying in bulk will save trips and money. Some bulk options include pallets of 40 x 25 kg bags (1 tonne), brown rock salt in lighter 10kg bags, which are easier to carry, in packs of 25, 50 or 100, or 1 tonne bulk bags, for sites with a salt store.
- When a cold snap is forecast, everyone orders salt at once, and bulk salt is a heavy delivery. But if you order now, your bin will be full and ready before you need it.
Step 3: Choose how to spread it
Throwing salt by hand is fine for a doorstep, but you’d still be better off using a scoop, and for anything bigger, using a spreader is best to get it down quickly and evenly.
| Area | Type | Picks |
| A few steps or a short path | Hand scoop | Multi Scoop grit & salt spreader |
| Paths, entrances, small car parks | Push spreader | EverTough Pro 57 kg salt spreader (our best seller) Cresco 10SW homeowner spreader Cemo SW 20-C spreader |
| Larger sites, daily gritting | Professional push spreader | Cemo SW 35-C spreader Cemo KS 35-E professional spreader |
| Estates, big car parks, long access roads | Towable spreader | 160 kg steel towable salt spreader |
How much should you spread?
Take the guesswork out of it by using our Salt Spreading Calculator. Simply input the area you’re covering, and it works out exactly how much salt you need.
Short on time? Consider these ready-made winter maintenance kit combinations
If you’re not sure where to begin or need a full kit now, we have put together a few options for ready-made winter maintenance kits that will cover all the jobs discussed above.
| Kit | Best for | What's in it |
| Doorstep | Homes, small entrances | 1 × 50 L recycled grit bin 2 × 25 kg white de-icing salt 1 × Multi Scoop grit & salt spreader 1 × telescopic snow shovel |
| Shop & office | Shop fronts, office entrances, small car parks | 1 × EverTough 200 L lockable grit bin 8 × 25 kg white de-icing salt 1 × Multi Scoop spreader 1 × heavy duty snow shovel |
| School & site | Schools, care homes, business parks | 3 × 14 Cu Ft heavy duty recycled grit bins (400 L / 500 kg) 2 × 1-tonne bags of brown rock salt 1 × 160 kg towable salt spreader 1 × large snow pusher |
| Estate | Estates, councils, large car parks | 3 × 14 Cu Ft heavy duty recycled grit bins (400 L / 500 kg) 2 × 1-tonne bags of brown rock salt 1 × 160 kg towable salt spreader 1 × large snow pusher |
Still not sure? Don’t worry, because we’re here to help
If you still have questions, you can either use this form to request a direct quote, use this form for public sector orders, or you can get in touch and we’ll help you work out what you need.
Either call us on 01777 858009 or email us via sales@kingfisherdirect.co.uk
