Rise | We've Done the Research
If You Use Road Salt, Use Less
First and foremost, you probably are using WAY too much road salt to melt the snow and ice effectively. Instead of trying to form a solid barrier of salt on your driveway, aim for a scatter pattern wherein the individual salt grains are about 3 inches apart. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recommends using about one coffee mug full of salt (roughly 12 ounces) for melting either a 20-foot driveway or ten sidewalk squares (approximately 1,000 square feet).
What Are the Most Common Deicing Agents?
Sodium Chloride (commonly known as rock salt)
The most common type of deicing salt used today is known as road salt or sodium chloride. Road salt is relatively inexpensive and abundant. However, it is known to release the most amount of chloride when it dissolves. Besides causing numerable harms to the environment, which we will explore below in more detail, sodium chloride is corrosive. It can damage concrete, metal, and masonry around your home.
Calcium Chloride
Another less common deicing salts include calcium chloride, which can cause skin irritation. High concentrations of calcium chloride can also eat away at your concrete driveway or sidewalk.
Potassium chloride
Potassium chloride is also sometimes used as a deicing salt. However, it only melts ice when the temperature is above 15 degrees Fahrenheit, making it relatively ineffective in harsh winters.
Magnesium chloride
Magnesium chloride is recognized as one of the most environmentally friendly deicing salts relatively new to the market. Magnesium chloride is potent enough to continue to melt ice down to temperatures of -13 F. This type of deicing salt releases up to 40 percent less chloride into the environment.
When purchasing deicing salts, look for products made from magnesium chloride as these will release far less chloride into the environment. Also, take time to clean up excess road salt before rains begin or when rising temperatures lead to high amounts of snow runoff. You should avoid deicing agents that include nitrates or ammonium sulfate. Not only can these chemical compounds damage the concrete of your driveway, but they can even further cause ecological damage once they are washed into the watershed.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
