ICY WALKWAYS: Peadow (DOW) calcium-chloride pellets, on slate.

[David Combs]

Near the house, our due-North-pointing front walk is shielded from the sun by some nice bushes. Thus that part NEVER sees the sun.

When it snows, starts melting a bit, and then the weather turns *really* cold

And with no sun, it stays solid for days and days and days.

I once bought a bag of road-salt (that's my just-now-made-up name for it), and tried it on the "patio" at our front door -- the beginning of the sidewalk out to the street.

Totally shaded.

Was slate.

DAMN -- that stuff ATE INTO THE SLATE. Little inverse-volcanoes(sp?), cones down into the slate.

That was 5 or 10 years ago. Obviously, I didn't try that again.

Now, I've been hearing that calcium-chloride pellets melt the ice, and yet do NOT hurt slate, etc.

So I bought a 25lb bag of the stuff.

Before I sprinkled some on the front walk, I decided to read the instructions.

OOPS!

Bag says it's "Not recommended for": concrete less than one year old precast steps prestessed concrete masonry (stone, brick, mortar joints)

The concrete will "spall", water will get into anything porous and then freeze and expand and destroy the surface, etc.

Please, what's YOUR experience with the stuff?

Or maybe with yet some OTHER product?

Thanks!

David

[Erma1ina]

Check out potassium acetate. For example, look at the write-up on "Natural Melt" at:

It's relatively expensive but safe. I got some at a local farm supply place.

[Jimw]

Or just use sand. Better yet is to mix ashes from a woodstove or fireplace with the sand.

[HeyBub]

The mayor of Seattle nixed using salt because it would wash into the storm drains and from there into Pugent Sound, causing irreparable harm to the environment. Pugent Sound is a salt-water estuary. Oh well.

Anyway, Seattle uses sand and, according to some, not enough.

But sand will only silt up the storm sewers. The citizens of Seattle, in the main, applaud the mayor's enlightened environmental stance while industry and commerce came to a halt during the most recent cold snap.