Eikenhout : Roofing, Siding and Windows

Best Way to Keep Ice Away

Michigan residents are very accustomed to snowy roads and large county trucks spreading literally tons of salt on our roads.  We curse them and bless them.  We love what the salt does for safe driving but hate what it does to our cars.

So what does a homeowner do for their own driveway, walks and even icy roofs.  Is it best to use salt (sodium chloride) on them or calcium chloride?  Which is the safest for your vegetation, your concrete and even your house?

These are the two most popular products on the market, salt and calcium chloride.  There are three main items that determine which product you use: 1) Cost 2) Temperature 3) Vegetation.

Salt (rock salt or sodium chloride) is the cheapest product.  It works well when the temperatures are above +20 F, but it is the hardest on vegetation because of the amount of product needed to melt the ice.  Calcium Chloride is more expensive but requires less in the application.  It can work down to -25 F.

Here is how ice melting occurs.  Salt must come in direct contact with moisture before it dissolves into a deicing brine.  That process requires time.  Calcium Chloride, on the other hand, attracts moisture from the atmosphere to form its deicing brine and begins working much quicker.  It also releases heat as it dissolves into a brine solution which melts ice quicker whereas salt must absorb heat to turn into a brine solution which is actually lowering the temperature of water and reducing its effect.

Salt and Calcium Chloride are a lot like fertilizer to your vegetation.  It is when too much is applied that it kills or causes die back and browning.  The goal in deicing is to use the least amount of deicer possible to minimize the exposure of plants to the chemicals.  This also makes the inside of your house less messy as people are not constantly tracking through piles of deicing material and carrying it in with their shoes.

Have a safe winter by keeping the ice to a minimum with the correct product for your situation.