De-icer supplies slide after back-to-back ice storms

on December 26, 2013 at 2:37 PM, updated December 30, 2013 at 11:50 AM

GV ice melt .JPGThis just in! Ross Sietsema shows a bag of the True Value customer favorite, Xtreme Melt, from a new supply that arrived at the store on Dec. 26. Potassium chloride is one of the four ingredients.

Larry Longstreth bought ice melter on Dec. 20, and was ready when the ice began building up on sidewalks and streets in Allendale in the next few days. Others weren't so lucky.

The Allendale True Value Hardware where Longstreth works quickly sold out of the customer favorite, potassium chloride. Over Christmas, shoppers had to settle for a different product.

"People like the product that is easy on their cement and easy on their pets," said Longstreth. The unusual back-to-back ice storms created an unexpected demand for the product, which is sold under various brand names.

True Value wasn't alone. Meijer stores in Standale, Jenison, Grandville; Flowerland; and Costco were among the retailers who sold out of the de-icer. Erik Vrodevoogd, at Gemmen's Hardware, said the store had a small supply of a brand that is a blend of products, and contains potassium chloride.

True Value manager Ross Sietsema said he called Menard's and Lowes, and True Value wholesale suppliers. One had already gone through nine semi-truck loads.

Ice-melting products can be dangerous to pets, Vredevoogd said. "Regular salt dries out the pads on the feet." Pets may also ingest the water that forms in pockets in sidewalks and driveways. Regular salt and some other chemical agents also can be harmful to plants and soil.

Retailers said people are not likely to go through the list of ingredients on the many ice-melt products available. They tend to find something that works and stick with it. Most products available in retail stores are made from one, or a blend of five products – potassium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium chloride, urea, and calcium magnesium acetate.

Ice melters works by attracting moisture to themselves. The product forms liquid brine, which generates heat and melts ice. To work, the product must reach the hard surface. Once there, it breaks the bond between ice and cement or pavement, allowing loose ice to be shoveled away. Damage to concrete occurs due to the effect of the brine, which increases the number of freeze-thaw cycles.

Each product has some drawbacks. Calcium chloride leaves a slimy residue, is corrosive to metal and damage vegetation is over-applied. Socium chloride (old-fashioned rock salt) is less harmful to concrete than some other products, but can damage vegetation and metal, and build up in soil. Potassium chloride is quite safe when applied in correct amounts, but it more expensive than other products. (It can be mixed with rock salt.) Urea is save if not over applied. Calcium magnesium acetate is safer for plants and concrete, but doesn't work very well at temperatures below 20 degrees. Sietsema said another factor in choosing the product is the kind of spreader that will be used.

Along with the ice, the melt product also goes into storm drains and onto adjacent lawns, farm fields or gardens. Natural products like sand, sawdust, wood shavings, and kitty litter will provide traction, and are sometimes mixed with ice melt products to soften the blow to nature. Most products are a mix of up to five active ingredients.

Some advice for anyone working with ice melt is to wear gloves, since the products can be irritating. Shovel snow first; ice melt won't take care of all the snow. Use only on seasoned concrete. In the spring, thoroughly water areas where ice melt has accumulated.