Ice Melt, anything I should know?

camaro09

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Messages
366
Location
Northern Minnesota
I believe some can be pretty harsh on your grass. Try to keep it just on the driveway and sidewalks...... oh ya, and dont add it to your coffee! :thumbsup:
 

Larbo

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 8, 2009
Messages
544
Location
NJ
Use very little and sweep away after ice melts and the walkway dries.
 

Lynx_Arc

Flashaholic
Joined
Oct 1, 2004
Messages
11,212
Location
Tulsa,OK
I usually get the biodegrable ice melt it doesn't harm concrete and works well enough. Get it before the snowstorms hit and you won't have to fight the traffic when your sidewalk turns into a skating rink.
 

mwaldron

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 10, 2007
Messages
644
Location
Iowa
Just bought some Road Runner Ice Melt to keep some cement cleared. Anything I should know besides what the bag tells me?

Don't slice open the bag with your brand new Damascus Steel knife. Damascus is a high carbon steel. This is something you already know, but probably don't think about, like me. It's a painful learning experience.

I'll leave the results to your imagination but I assure you they weren't pretty and I didn't take pics.
 

Lurker

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 6, 2002
Messages
1,457
Location
The South
Not sure where in Colorado you are going to school, but the parts I am familiar with are dry and sunny (front range, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Denver, where the major universities are). Snow mostly disappears the day after a snowstorm. Just keep a snow shovel handy and clear a walking path when the show is fresh and light before it gets trampled into ice. It won't take any longer than spreading salt. Nature will clean up the rest quickly enough.
 

Braddah_Bill

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Messages
587
Location
Hawaii
Just bought some Road Runner Ice Melt to keep some cement cleared. Anything I should know besides what the bag tells me?

Braddah, just tell Auntie send you some Hawaiian Salt from Foodland, das da bes.... all natural like dat.

You can use da left over for da Maui Onion with your Fish and Poi.
 
Last edited:

JeffInChi

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Messages
232
Location
Chicago, IL
yeah, it eats concrete, stains the bottom of your pants, and no matter how often you brush off your shoes at the front door, it gets into the house and into the carpet.


If you have my luck, as soon as you put it down, the snow will turn into rain and wash it all away. :ironic:

They do sell enviro-friendly salt, but it'll cost more and its still somewhat abrasive. I usually just use it for the steps and like one poster said, brush it away after its purpose is served, just not into the lawn!
 

Ken_McE

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 16, 2003
Messages
1,687
Just bought some Road Runner Ice Melt to keep some cement cleared. Anything I should know besides what the bag tells me?

RR is Sodium Chloride mixed with small amounts of [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica]Potassium Chloride, Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride. The Sodium Chloride is basically table salt and is used in ice melt because it's cheap. It is hard on plants, masonry, and metal. The Calcium Chloride is very powerful and will get things started fast even at very cold temperature. It is also hard on plants, metal, masonry, your lungs, shoes and gloves.

I have switched over to using Magnesium Chloride because it is the least harmful of the chlorides. I also keep a small amount of straight Calcium Chloride around for extreme cold conditions.
[/FONT]
 

Mjolnir

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 19, 2008
Messages
1,711
Road "salting" works by freezing point depression, in which the presence of a solute (in this case an ionic compound like a salt) lowers the freezing point of a solvent (the water or ice). Freezing point depression is colligative, meaning that the amount the freezing point is lowered depends on the number of molecules, not what kind of molecules they are. Sodium Chloride isn't as effective as other salts because each NaCl molecule dissociates into 1 Na+ and 1 Cl- molecule. Other salts, such as magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) dissociate into 3 molecules per 1 molecule of salt (1 Ca2+ and 2 Cl-), meaning that the freezing point will be lowered more for the same molar amount of the salt.
 
Last edited:
Top