Tip o’ the Day: Deice, Ice Baby
Winter wonderland, snow everywhere. It's like the romance of Valentine's Day has carried over to the following day. That might be the case if you could stay inside by the fire all day; but you probably have to go to school, work, and the grocery store. You need to clear the driveway and the sidewalks, and it's not an easy task.
You probably find that you need to use some sort of "ice melt" to help with the job, but we all know that most of these products are not without environmental side effects. In fact, it's been quite obvious for some time that most existing solutions are not environmentally-friendly, but super eco-friendly solutions are still not available.
Of course, there are ways to be less damaging to the environment when deicing pavement. You might want to take a couple of Advil for this one, because it's going to get a little manual around here.
The first step is to stop the ice before it starts. Clear snow before ice has a chance to form. If you're dealing with ice from freezing rain, Treehugger recommends that you break up that ice with a flat hoe. However, that may not be entirely reasonable depending on the area that you are working with, and the amount of ice.
One of the more environmentally friendly compounds out there (or less toxic, at least) is CMA - calcium magnesium acetate. If you put it down before the snowfall, it will even help stop ice from forming. It's a great alternative to salt, however it becomes much less effective in temperatures lower than the mid-20s.
One final recommendation is use whatever product you choose sparingly. Put down just enough to help you break up the ice so that you can remove it more easily.
Rebecca says: I'm feeling for you all right now. We're expecting a temperature drop here in Miami this weekend. A high in the mid-60s is a push for us, but we've pledged not to complain after seeing what the rest of the country is up against. Stay warm and drink some fair-trade hot cocoa!
Resources:
Environmental Literary Council, Impacts of Deicing
ENN, Environmentally Friendlier Ways to De-Ice Pavement?
University of Nebraska, Winter Deicing Agents for the Homeowner
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February 15th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
The desired result of de-icing is a non-slip surface, so what about sand?
February 15th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Well, I think sometimes you want to make a surface non-slip, but other times you really need to get rid of the ice. Sand seems to be okay in small quantities, but the research that I did suggests that using a lot of sand can also be harmful to sewer systems, some plants, etc.
February 15th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
What's wrong with salt? They rock salt I use is good for a few below zero.
February 16th, 2007 at 3:58 am
Salt can't work below the freezing point of saturated brine ( -6 ºF or -21 ºC) which is warmer than a cold, winter day in many places.
February 18th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Salt has it’s own issues as it corrodes cars, damages plants, and when used in large amounts, it makes it’s way to bodies of water, affecting even more issues. The links I provided at the end of the tip go into a lot more detail.