Concrete Safe Snow Melt

If you ve been using rock salt or potassium chloride this is probably why your concrete driveway is showing signs of deterioration.

Concrete safe snow melt.

Not only do these in slab snow melting systems eliminate plowing backbreaking shoveling and icy spills they prevent potential damage to the concrete caused by snow removal equipment and corrosive de icers. Being a hygroscopic compound it absorbs moisture and thereafter starts dissolving. While potassium chloride is good for the environment it damages the concrete and typically costs 3 5 times more. Safe snow melt products for concrete snow melt products typically work by attracting water and creating brine a combination of salt and water.

Some homeowners and businesses are keeping their exterior concrete flatwork surfaces maintenance free and safe year round by installing heated driveways with ice and snow melting systems. This process generates heat resulting in melting ice and snow. It is safe to use around plants and less corrosive than most other concrete deicers. Another good de icer is cma or calcium magnesium acetate which doesn t wash away as easily as the others and has a lower environmental impact.

Magnesium chloride is hygroscopic like calcium chloride it dissolves very quickly forming a brine solution melting snow and ice very quickly. It only melts snow and ice effectively in temperatures down to 5 degrees fahrenheit 15c. Safe for concrete ice melt snow removal equipment the home depot store finder. There are several ice melt products that are safe for concrete the most popular and most effective being calcium chloride magnesium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate.

Concrete manufacturers recommend using only sand and a shovel on new concrete. Get free shipping on qualified safe for concrete ice melt or buy online pick up in store today in the outdoors department. Nor will ice melter manufacturers provide any warranties when used on new concrete. Good ice melt choices for concrete are calcium chloride and magnesium chloride.

The following are considered the safest of these products for concrete. Before you can determine if an ice melting product is safe for your concrete surfaces you need to be aware of the typical weather patterns in your area. The dissolving process is exothermic and generates heat of up to 60 degrees celsius. For regions where the temperatures don t usually drop very far below freezing sodium chloride can be used without any risk of damages.

If you must use an ice melter then use a very high quality salt based melter that melts to 25f and has a large amount of anti corrosive compounds in the product.