Summerstep Home SM11x30C-RES Residential Snow Melting Heated Stair Mat, Anti-Slip, Keep Your Snowy Stairs Safe This Winter (Includes 1 Heated Stair Mat), Black

Replaced my wooden entry steps with Trex decking 4 years ago but learned the 1st winter that ice build up on my 3 steps could not be fixed by applying salt and sand which would damage the Trex material. I opted for a $500+ investment (3 stair mats, 2- 5' walkway mats and one proprietary GCFI type power cord plug) which was the way to go.. The connecting wires for each mat can only link up one way and are easy to connect. They have locking rubber tabs for water seal but I also taped up the link with some black electric tape which blends inconspicuously. You need a standard 120 Volt Socket electric supply for the power cord transformer which I installed under the steps for weather protection. I used a GCFI Socket inside an Outlet Covered electric box for safety. I attached a Wi-Fi hockey puck size electric on/off disc into the socket so your smart phone can control power from indoors. They also make a thermostat plug for auto -35 degree power. Every spring I repaired any cracks or tears in the mats with black duct or electrical tape The system worked well for 4 years until this month when Power On tripped the GCFI receptacle. I needed to isolate power to each mat to locate the faulty one which oddly turned out to be one of the least repaired steps. A week ago at $75, now $91 for a mat, it is not a cheap replacement but I hope to get a few more years from the system which really works well in winter ice and snow. ADDENDUM. Just received my new mat which although has an improved textured surface for gripping, is now 12" wide, rather than the standard 11" and so now overlaps at the end of the step. This may cause a walking problem and maybe lead to a bend on the edge of the step. Still listed at 11 x 30", I have no clue why the mat was widened. See photo

These steps were pretty great , melted the snow pretty well for safe stair travel. They do not clear as well as some of the photos show , there is still ice and snow on part of the stair that is not covered by the mat.Also some ice builds up on the outside of the mats as the snow in the middle melts. We do have pretty harsh winters where I live.The worst part is that about two months in , they started blowing the built in breaker. I would have them on during a heavy snow. When going outside a few hours later noticed the snow was not melted and the breaker was tripped. Re-set the breaker , walked down the stairs and the breaker tripped immediately upon stepping on the second step. So I removed that one cover from the stairs , they worked for another week then started again with another cover. So unfortunately with lots of winter left , I am back to salting and chipping ice ? It was a lot of money for two good months of operation.Trying to get ahold of the manufacturer now to see what they will do , I bought these in August way before I needed them. Hopefully they stand behind the one year warranty. However if the next set only last another two months next winter , still not worth it..Should get a few years of service for the $400.00 investment. My original plan was to expand on these to other places around my home , so a little disappointed for sure.I will update when I get an answer from the manufacturer..

Two panels shorted after the second year and had to throw out. Only the centers heat leaving a large area along the edges covered with snow.

Summer Step Mats have been a saving grace for my family. I have struggled with removing snow for years. I have a bad back and can not stand for long periods of time with out horrible pain not to mention shoveling snow all winter. I have been researching these for a while and what had really sealed the deal for me to finally make the investment was a visit from my parents ending with my Mother slipping on the ice on my stairs and hurting herself. Ever since using Summer Step Mats we have not had one single problem with any snow removal or dangerous ice. I have also included 3 pictures of the mats "in action". 1st picture, I started them after it already started snowing (should have started them a couple of hours before). 2nd picture, just a few hours later and it was still snowing. 3rd picture the next evening all the snow was gone and what truly surprised me the most was that it melted all the snow on the cement too! Thank you Summer Step for such great product! If you want to save time and stay safe I highly recommend these.

We purchased a step mat and a larger mat two years ago for our back deck to use in the winter. In the beginning, they worked well, but over time the connectors would not stay connected. We were continually having to reconnect them. This winter, it appears that larger mat has a short as the power supply shuts off when we step on the larger mat now. I will be looking at other options to replace these.

I've purchased 2 of these mats and a power supply. The system worked perfectly for 3-4 days and then the circuit breaker, which is an integral part of the power cord, continually opened and would not remain on for more than 10 seconds. Other customer reviews indicated this failure was common and you need to isolate the mat causing the issue. Since I had 2 this was easily accomplished (assuming I did not have 2 failed mats). Amazon is replacing the failed mat and I am going to give the system another chance. It works well when it works.

Update. January 2021. One of the step heaters quit working. It continues to channel power to the other two step heaters. I’m kind of disappointed that it lasted less than two seasons.These step heaters really worked well for us on some new wood steps. Since our garage is not attached, we use our side steps to come and go and the new wood was very slippery when it got wet / froze. I hooked them up to an outdoor WiFi plug and was able to turn them on and off with Alexa and also through my phone (especially handy when returning from a trip to a snow storm).

Times it works, times it doesn't. I think the power has to go through the small ones to the larger pad. When I reverse the order the small step pads do not work.It's pricy....and you need several of them for an entranceway (5 steps). Let's see how the rest of the winter goes.

Due to my constant ice build up on my 4 step stone entranceway, I had been applying salt and sand (messy) daily as the melting water would freeze up instantly. Nothing was preventing my dogs from dragging me rapidly down the steps and risking then and me from falling onto hard stone. I saw these by accident online and decided that a $500 investment (4 stair mats and one power cord plug unique to the mats) was needed finally. The plugs themselves are rather fragile and delicately "keyed" but initially I had them reversed preventing them from powering up. Once solved, they worked flawlessly in -25 C right up until the springtime temps arrived last week. Even then, melt off and ice buildup just dissolved away beautifully. Best yet, no more salt that would burn the paws of the dogs. I only wish I had discovered these mats years ago. My only wish would that they had more robust keyed plugs and the power cord was attached permanently on the first mat, with subsequent mats being "add ons" for the qty of steps needed. That would give them 5 stars.

3 items were ordered as a package. only 2 parts have arrived. the missing part is the electrical plug and without it I cannot use what has been delivered.

Connected these (2 mats) to a timer to save power. Work well. Steps no longer a danger. Having to buy the cord is a bit of a pain and boosts the over all cost considerably. Hard to see where the cost is involved in the construction of what looks like an extension cord with GFCI built in. Guess its for safety so what can you do. Not like there is a lot of competition for this size of mat.

I too got caught out by the "power cord not included" problem. I purchased this mat at $90.24 CAD, only to discover that I needed to buy a power cord for $111.64 CAD. Under normal circumstances, I might accept that this is my fault for simply not having seen that this version comes without a cord, however, I cannot maintain that in this case for two reasons:1) Comments about this issue existed. The vendor could have helped resolve this by changing the title and "above the fold" description to reflect the lack of power cord. They chose not to.2) The DM24x36C-RES mat which sells with integrated power cord is being sold for $167.70 CAD. If we subtract the price of the non-integrated cable, we get $167.70 - $111.64 = $56.06. I find this somewhat problematic, as the DM24x36C-RES (the mat with the integrated power cord) is a larger mat than the SM11x30C-RES (the mat which is the subject of this comment.Why should the DM24x36C-RES, with it's integrated power cord, be $167.70, when the SM11x30C-RES + separate power cord be $90.24 + $111.64 = $201.88? Without even discussing how ridiculous $111.64 is for what amounts to a 6 foot, weather-proof extension cable, the part where the smaller mat + power cable costs 120% more than the larger mat (with its integrated power cable) is baffling. The difference is $34.18, which I can't reasonably account for in added shipping costs for the extra power cable.One of the most important rules of life is not to presume malice. The presumption of good faith is what allows us to interact, form societies, and generally not kill each other over every perceived slight. That said, based on the above, I do not feel that I can presume good faith on behalf of this vendor.I feel that the vendor has made considered choices which are designed to both maximize the chance that someone purchases one of these mats without a power cord (thus requiring a second purchase of a power cord), and that they have priced the relevant power cord at an unreasonable level. Presumably to take advantage of those of us who were simply attempting to buy one mat.I hope that my feelings regarding this matter are incorrect, and the vendor is operating in good faith. If they are, I would hope that they change the title and above the fold description of the SM11x30C-RES mat, and all other mats in their line which do not have power cords, to reflect clearly the fact that they have power cords.Better still would be to offer a version of the product - Amazon allows for individual products to have multiple options in a pull-down menu - which ships with a power cord. That way buyers could easily see the true price they are required to pay for this product.

Instead of paying for snow removal, buy a Summerstep system plus a Dewenwils remote control outlet. Sure it's expensive. But so is five years of snow removal service. Do the math, you'll probably pay for the system within 3-4 years. Plus, safety is priceless. This system prevents slips on icy stairs, both for you and any company or the mailman.When it starts to snow, use your remote control to turn on the system. The snow and ice melt on the mats. This actually makes it easier to go out and shovel the rest of the snow.