Salt And Pavers: What You Should Know?

Winter season is on us.

One of the biggest winter woes is to keep your steps, pavement, and driveway free from the treacherous layer of ice. 

A common way to clear icy pavement is to use rock salt. However, it is not the best way and can lead to big headaches later. 

In this article, we will discuss three reasons why you should not use salt for clearing snow. And what to use instead.

Best Ice Melt For Concrete

3 Reasons Why You Should Not Use Salt This Winter

1- Corrosive

The most popular way of clearing snow from the pavements is to sprinkle salt. Salt is basically sodium chloride. It does the job of making your driveways and pavements ice-free, but they wreak significant damages to your concrete. Not only does it corrode it, but also leaves stains and streaks on the surface.

2- Poisonous

Apart from being corrosive, these salts are also poisonous to your pet and can damage your plants as well. Chlorine in salt and chemical-based ice melts is a toxic respiratory irritant and can damage pets’ skin, eyes, and membranes.

3- Costly 

While you may think that rock salt is the cheapest way to get rid of icy pavements, it’s not. There is a high cost involved in repairing the damages done by salt.

Luckily, there are other ways to keep driveways and sidewalks ice-free without using these salts and chloride-based ice-melts. 

1- Concrete-safe ice melt

An ice melt safe on concrete is one that is composed of urea or crystalline amide solution. Since these ice melts have natural ingredients in their build, they are neither corrosive nor poisonous. New concrete is more vulnerable. Therefore, make sure your ice melt is safe for new concrete also.

2- Hot water

Apart from using a good ice melt for concrete, you can also use hot water. Although it is a safe option and does the job, it is slow and ineffective in low temperatures.

3- Cat Litter

Another way to circumvent the use of salt or ice melt is cat or kitty litter. Cat litter is made from wood, paper, grain, corncobs, citrus, and grass. Although it adds traction to the icy pavements and prevents slip and fall accidents, it’s a bit messy solution. 

Other Methods of getting rid of snow from your pavement-

Other ways of getting clean and ice-free pavements are shoveling and using ice melting mats. The downside of shoveling is that it is laborious, takes a lot of time, and is hard on your back. And snow melting mats reduce your snow-removal efforts, but they are expensive and are heavy on your electricity bill.

Therefore, using a good ice melt on concrete that is chemical-free and composed of natural ingredients is the best way to clear snow from pavers, steps, and driveways.

Are you looking for more chemical-free, natural ice melt solutions that are safe and effective to use this winter? Check them out here.

Other Ice Melt Products

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