Too Many Ice Melt Products!

-snip-

Not just "don't like"-- we nearly lost our pug when, after he had strolled through some excess rocksalt on a public sidewalk, he licked his paws clean. He nearly got a lethal dose. The vet warned us to wash those paws as soon as we get back in the car- by the time we got home he had already poisoned himself.

We've been using Magic salt on our driveway- where he rarely walks--- and that god-awfully expensive [and minimally effective] 'SafePaw' for the sidewalk he uses.

Neither seems to hurt the concrete. [ some 5 yrs old, most 30+] But the Magic salt really lives up to its name. It lingers and it seems to take less for the original melt. It is more expensive per pound than rock salt- but think it is the better buy.

Jim

re: "we nearly lost our pug..."

We have a Pug and a PugZu or a Shug or Shih-Ug or whatever you call a Pug-ShihTzu mix.

The Pug is old and already gimpy and the rock salt really bothers his paws.

Is Magic Salt safe(r) compared to Rock Salt?

Blowtorch?

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'er', I think. We get it at a dog groomers & she swears it is 'safe for dogs'. Tammy does her homework and I think she probably right on this stuff, too. My take is that it is a little safer because you use less of it-- and it has less salt in it to start.

The magic salt people also say it tastes bad to dogs so they don't lick.

IMO- it won't help with the tracking in by people. It is messy stuff.

Jim

Sand. No chemicals, just some sweeping up come spring. Ice isn't the problem, it is the smooth surface that is, add sand and the problem is gone.

re: "add sand and the problem is gone. "

I guess I should have added 1 more criteria:

"I don't want to drag mud into house."

Snow melts and the shoes dry. Even salt, for the most part, can be kicked off before entering the house.

There's not much you can do when wet sand is stuck to the bottom of your shoes or boots.

I'd wager that sand makes more of a mess inside the house than any other option.

Nope wood ash tops all. If you want no mess a propane tank hooked up to a torch works if you are active. Folks in NY state that I happened upon had a cold porch to take off the nasty stuff. This was near the rifle for stupid dear. I use sand gingerly and have a torch back up. Salt not good for plants either, but a hard fall can if your lucky to walk away change your priorities.

Where I worked they once used a mix of salt and sand. Wrecked havoc with the vinyl floors.

Just be careful that you don't use sodium chloride on concrete surfaces. Normal ice melters have calcium chloride which is OK.

re: "This was near the rifle for stupid dear. "

Freudian slip?

Nope just typing and counting on "spell checker" some mac magic that is not perfect.

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I've tried sand. Problem is- If you sand in the morning, by evening when you get home, that sand has melted and is now under an even slicker surface. Or it hasn't re-frozen, and you track it into the house.

Doesn't work well in my part of the world.

Jim

"Pete C." wrote in news:4cffcf65$0$2397$ snipped-for-privacy@unlimited.usenetmonster.com:

o brother, you must live where it doesn't snow very much. If we used sand, we'd have to use hundreds of pounds of it.

I used to live where it snowed a lot, and I did use hundreds of pounds of sand and a lot of 4x4 as well. Fortunately I was smart enough to move somewhere where we get just enough snow to laugh at for a day and then it's gone.

If I dumped sand on my driveway when it iced up, it'd all just slide down the hill and collect at the bottom. I have avoided using salt and similar, because my front yard is in sad shape as it is, and I don't want 2 dead stripes on the sides come spring. Took me 3 years to get grass to grow again where the independent plow company the township tried one year, decided MY front yard was a good push-off spot halfway up the straight stretch. I meant to get boulders for the bottom driveway corners after that, but never found a decent price on delivered ones, and I don't have a truck.

Thankfully, the last few winters around here have been pretty mild. If I can get even 1/4 of the asphalt showing, and if the sun comes out even a couple hours while I am at work, it burns off pretty well. I haven't had to park in the street/yard yet, which is good, because plow would bury it.

We're not going to have much snow in NYC this winter, because I bought a snowblower. Small house and a cheap electric (Snow Joe) blower, but apparently just the fact that I bought it is sufficient to ensure that NYC is protected.

re: "just the fact that I bought it is sufficient to ensure that NYC is protected"

Well, I thought I had my area protected with the purchase of this, but we've had 13" since last week.

I cleaned up a bunch of EOD's on my street and moved a few piles around.

You can read my full review here:

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Those high gears are good for the little snowfalls. As long as they aren't too wet, you can probably put it in 'fast walk' and just trot back and forth in your driveway. The goal is to keep the scoop full without packing it. Remember that the machine will like to throw snow in one direction more than the other- so if you can, plan your blowing pattern around that.

Sounds like a good little machine. When I run out of parts for my1965 Bolens Artic75 I hope Ariens is still making a good machine.

Jim

I won't get much snow here in Texas either... I left my snow blower back in the frozen northeast, but I've got a small 4x4 diesel tractor with loader which will ensure I don't get enough snow to have fun with the tractor.

I wouldn't use Calcium Chloride unless you want to be washing the white film off of everything when your wet footprints dry...

Magnesium Chloride leaves less of a mess... Also for those whose pets don't like stepping on the "rock salt" pellets, look for flakes instead...

~~ Evan