How to Melt an Icy Sidewalk
The winter brings with it bitter temperatures, snow, slush and ice. When water collects on sidewalks in winter, it quickly turns to ice and can cause people to slip and fall. Spreading ice-melting products helps combat the effects of icy sidewalks and prevents possible injuries. From salt to fertilizer, the type of product you should use depends on the temperatures outside and your sidewalk material. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Spread rock salt, or sodium chloride, on the affected sidewalk to melt the ice. Bear in mind, however, that sodium chloride ceases to work when temperatures fall below 20 degrees F.
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Use urea fertilizer on the icy patches. Because most sidewalks are concrete, it’s unsafe to use most other types of fertilizer, as the chemicals can damage the sidewalk. Urea fertilizer is reasonably safe for concrete, but it doesn't work if the temperature falls below 10 F.
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Apply calcium chloride if temperatures fall below 10 F. Cathy Walker of FacilitiesNet explains that calcium chloride will melt ice in temperatures down to minus 25 F. Most other de-icers fail to work effectively when temperatures fall below zero, with the exception of ammonium sulphate, which will also work down to minus 25 F. However, ammonium sulphate is not recommended for concrete sidewalks, as it eats through concerete.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have pets that walk on your sidewalk, wash their feet off with water when they come inside. Many deicers harm pets' paws.
It's a good idea not to use any kind of chemical de-icer on concrete that's less than a year old Instead, use sand or sawdust. Neither will melt ice, but these materials do help the process along by absorbing heat from the sun.
References
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