Ice Melt 101: A Primer on How Deicers Work and What to Consider

There are a lot of different ice melt and snow removal products available and they all have their specific uses. So before you delve into the specific ice melts available, maybe you could use a little general information about how deicers work and what to consider. Here is a short Ice Melt 101 intro to help:

How Deicers Work – Ice Melt 101

Solid deicers work by breaking the bond that has formed between ice, fallen snow, and any surface, such as a sidewalk or roadway. The deicer lowers the snow’s melting point and creates a brine solution. It’s Ice Melt 101 to know that as this solution spreads and reaches the pavement below, it breaks the bond. There are exothermic deicers, such as sodium acetate, that give off heat as they dissolve, allowing them to work more quickly.

Solid deicers come in both pellet and granulated forms.

• Pellets are harder, creating less dust when dumped into salt spreaders, and they spread very evenly due to the uniform size of the pellets.
• Both pellets and granules stick well to snow and ice surfaces and don’t bounce off when applied.

There are a few other things to remember that apply to all solid deicers:

• The ideal concentration of a deicer is its eutectic point–the lowest temperature at which the chemical can depress the freezing point of water. That point corresponds to a specific ratio of water to chemical in the formed brine.
• Increasing the chemical ratio beyond the eutectic point actually decreases the product’s effectiveness.
• Cost is one factor to keep in mind, but don’t assume the cheapest product will be cheapest to use. Some products, like rock salt, allow refreezing at a higher temperature than others. The increased freeze/thaw cycles can lead to more damage to surfaces like concrete.
• If it’s expected to be an especially cold winter, make sure that deicing products used have a lower refreezing point, down to zero or below.

We’re your one stop shop for the ice melt products and snow removal tools. Contact us for help selecting the mix of products you need for your climate and different storm variations.