A push snow shovel is designed for pushing rather than digging. The most basic types of push snow shovels have a straight wood handle and wide, heavy-duty plastic blade. Since the concept behind these snow shovels is to push the snow forward, the wider the blade is the more ground is covered. These shovels work just like push brooms do on dirt. Many different push snow shovel styles are available.
Some types of push snow shovels are basically one large shovel blade with a rectangular handle on top like the kind on many manual lawn mowers. The handles may be rubber-coated for easier gripping. The blade on this type of push shovel is usually curved or angled to collect or scoop snow while the person is walking forward. Wheels on the bottom of this kind of large-bladed push show shovel can make the pushing much easier.
The best push show shovels have a galvanized steel area on the bottom of the shovel blade. This metal area helps to break up the ice that often accumulates on driveways and walkways under layers of snow. Unless the ice is broken up first, a push snow shovel without a strong metal blade won't be able to sufficiently move through the snowy ground. Not only that, the ice layer is slippery and dangerous for the snow shoveler to walk on; a shovel to push ahead and break up ice means a clear walking path is being created. Of course, shoveling driveways and walkways before ice can form saves labor and energy; no underlying ice means only simple pushing of the push snow shovel is needed.
Rather than the often back-straining use of a traditional digging show shovel in scooping and flinging motions, the pushing types allow the user to stand in the center of a driveway or walkway and push the snow horizontally. This way, snow piles can be created on either side of the walk or drive and no actual shoveling is needed. Ergonomically designed push snow shovels have bent handles created to take excess pressure off of the back. The ergonomic push snow shovel types usually look like traditional digging shovels except for the crooked handles. Many push snow shovels have D-shaped plastic or metal tops on the handle to help shovelers better control the shovel's angle.
Mini folding push snow shovels are ideal for clearing off porch railings and other small areas. A mini push show shovel is often the right size to clear snowy outdoor stairways. Some people use mini snow shovels to push off snow from vehicles and this may work well as long as the blade isn't used close enough to scrape or scratch auto paint.