Winter care of your pavers is about the same as your average Wisconsin concrete driveway or walkway although you have several advantages right off the bat!
Nearly all professional pavers have high compressive strength
and far lower water absorption rates than standard poured concrete. What's that mean to you? The pavers will not absorb as much water as there are far fewer small voids compared to poured concrete. This means less cracks as water is not freezing inside the paver itself. Most pavers also have a beveled or tumbled edge and possibly even a textured surface. This means better water movement off the surface of the paver and better slip resistance.
Plastic over Metal
If your snow blower or snow shovel have a metal edge, change it to a plastic poly edge. While you won't hurt most professional grade pavers with metal edges, you will leave behind enough metal shavings for rust lines to show up on the surface a few weeks later.
Don't get too Salty
De-icing substances, when used in proper amounts, will not damage good-quality concrete. They will, however, speed up the surface wear on some styles of pavers. Many of the exposed aggregate products and tumbled products are unaffected by virtue of their style. As a general rule of thumb, less is more.
De-icing salts:
• Sodium chloride (common rock salt) is the most popular de-icing salt. It is widely available and it will melt snow and ice at temperatures down to approximately 16° F (-9° C). Below 16° F (-9° C), rock salt stops melting snow and ice. Sodium chloride can damage adjacent grass, plants and metal.
Apply with caution and use as sparingly as possible.
• Mix with sand to increase effectiveness and to reduce the amount of salt used. Do not use calcium chloride, potassium chloride or magnesium chloride. These will have harmful effects on the concrete.
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