How to Use Salt to Melt Ice

With snowfall blanketing most of the country, it's time to break out the shovels and ice melt. Here's some tips to make it easier.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• rock salt or snow melt
• shovel or broom
• gloves
• scarf
• warm coat
• hot chocolate

1. The first rule of cleaning the snow off the porch and the car is that whoever stays inside during the process has to get the hot chocolate ready--preferably with lots of marshmallows or whipped cream. This work is hard and you will be cold.

2. Consider letting a neighborhood child or teen clean off the porch and driveway for you. All kids should have the opportunity to earn some spending money after it snows.

3. If you can't find someone else to do the work for you, I suggest startign with a broom. Shovels full of snow are very heavy and you really need to get down to the sidewalk before putting out the ice melt.

4. Clear off as much snow as possible using the broom or shovel. If done befor emelting starts, the broom is often the easiest way, but if the snow has started melting and refreezing or is very wet, you'll need the shovel.

5. When using the shovel, stop immediately if you becoem short of breath or feel tighteness or pain in your chest. This is hard exercise and people have died shoveling snow. Don't be one of them.

6. When the majority of the snow is off the sidewalk, loosely sprinkle the rock sale over the area. Be careful to spread it evenly. Do this early enoguh in the day so that the melted water has some place to drain and does not simply refreeze in the same spot.

7. An even sprinkloing will help give you traction even if it is too cold for the ice to melt. Kitty litter is also good for this.

8. Anhydrous ammonia (fertilizer pellets) also make a great de-icer. It can sometiems be purchased at big home improvement stores, or if you live in the coutry, at the local feed store. Teh advantage of using fertilizer is that it supplies a chemical reactiont o melt the ice without the harsh chemicals or lawn damaging effects of chemical ice melt or salt. The downside is that it is often limited in availabilit because it is used in some drug-making operations and can be used in home made chemistry experiments to make explosives.

Tips & Warnings

• Sprinkle evenly and during the warmest part of the day when the melted ice has a place and time to drain.
• Make sure to shovel far enough back from the sidewalk that there is room for the water to drain.
• Carefully consider the environmental effects to the product you use as ice melt. Clay-based cat litter and fertilizer are easiest on the environment.
• Rock salt can change the salt content of the soil near where it is used and may kill vegetation.
• Chemical ic emelts amy have unintended environmental consequences.