The ultimate purpose of every organization is the safety of its employees, customers, and associates. One approach to accomplish this is to ensure that your property is free of any ice accumulation that may accumulate after a winter blizzard.
The ice that might form beneath the snow can be dangerous to people and automobiles. Slips and slides are common, resulting in minor fender benders and catastrophic injuries.
Consider the many ways to deice commercial properties and utilize certain factors such as wholesale ice melt to evaluate which ones will work best for your property. You may prevent accidents on your commercial property by using a combination of solid and liquid deicers and a plowing and clearing regimen.
What Is Deicing?
Deicing is the process of removing snow from frozen pavement. Spreading rock salt is a common way of deicingю However, it has several unfavorable side effects, including harming nearby plants and grass and creating excessive salination of neighboring lakes and rivers.
Discovering practical strategies to deice a driveway without salt helps keep you safe and your property in good condition when the snow and ice melt come spring. You may discover how to remove ice from a driveway without using salt in several methods by reading on.
Best Methods For De-icing
Rock Salt
Snow days are fun, but the fun ends when you shovel your snowy sidewalk only to uncover a dangerous layer of ice beneath it—an accident waiting to happen. The most frequent method for deicing a driveway is to use rock salt bought from reliable rock salt distributors.
Every year, we dump around five million tonnes of bagged rock salt to keep our driveways, stairs, and sidewalks from turning into small skating rinks. The advantage is that it is inexpensive and widely available. The disadvantage is that it includes cyanide and chloride, which are toxic to plants and pets.
Rubbing Alcohol
Alcohol is stated as a component on the box of several commercial de-icers. A standard 70% rubbing alcohol solution has a very low freezing point, making it an excellent deicer. The lower the freezing point, the less likely your collected precipitation will solidify into dangerous ice.
Rather than purchasing another box of shop-bought deicer this season, sprinkle rubbing alcohol down frozen spots on the sidewalk to save money and avoid long lineups at the hardware store. In a spray container, blend two parts rubbing alcohol and one part warm water for a year-round solution. Spritz the solution freely onto the ice-covered surface of your path or driveway to coat and gradually melt it.
Shovel with Metal Edge Strip
Ensure that the shovel scoop has a sharp aluminum edge strip when purchasing snow shovels. This metal strip is used in your driveway to break up and remove ice. This basic approach is sometimes ignored when attempting to clear ice from a driveway, but it can be successful with a little elbow grease!
When it comes to de-icing your driveway, there is no simple way out, as there is with most things. That means shoveling snow as soon as it falls, even if it means heading out in the middle of a storm.
Magnesium Chloride
Many Northeasterners keep magnesium chloride in their homes because it can efficiently melt ice at temperatures as low as -15 degrees Celsius. It can handle moderate to major ice accumulations with relative ease. Furthermore, magnesium chloride is a more ecologically responsible and pet-friendly alternative to calcium chloride.
Purchase magnesium chloride in pellet form rather than flake form for the best results. Hand-spread the pellets over frozen walkways until they are fairly uniformly distributed. The chemical components of the magnesium chloride pellets will melt the ice and take your winter troubles away as they penetrate the ice.
Warm Water
If the ice is thick and stubborn, boil a large pot of hot water and apply it to the block of ice, making sure to whisk the water off the surface, so it doesn’t freeze on the driveway. In tough regions, this can be useful for removing ice from the driveway.
Cat Litter
Kitty litter helps to create friction, which helps you maintain a grip on slippery surfaces even though it isn’t a deicer. If you are unable to wait for the ice to melt, you can manually spread a substantial amount of non-clumping kitty litter over an icy sidewalk or in the tire tread marks on your driveway. You’ll be able to grip the slippery ice easier with these grains in place.
You don’t own a cat, or you’ve used up all your cat litter. Sand, wood chips, sawdust, or fireplace ash are some alternatives to coarse materials. The path ahead will be less slippery, and it will also clean up your shed!
Deicing granules
Deicing granules, for example, are a viable option. When the granules come into contact with snow, a chemical reaction takes place, releasing heat and causing the ice to melt. Because the deicing granules do not include chlorine, they are perfect for deicing corrosion-sensitive surfaces such as aluminum, steel, reinforced concrete, or natural stone. Deicing granules are biodegradable and do not affect the surrounding animals and vegetation.
Homemade Alternatives
You might be surprised to learn how to clear ice from your driveway with common home objects. Half a gallon of boiled water, some dish soap, and a quarter cup of rubbing alcohol should all be combined in a bucket.
As you see the ice bubble up and melt away, this is an effective and pleasant way to learn how to get rid of the ice on your driveway. Pour the solution into your driveway and shovel the newly melted ice to keep your property safe!
Conclusion
Preventative deicing is ideal because it will help you avoid most difficulties. Furthermore, deicing as a preventative measure can save you a lot of money.
If your preventative deicing efforts were insufficient to keep the ice and snow at bay, remove the snow before addressing the surface area with deicing salt or deicing granules. This will yield the most effective results!