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Concrete Friendly Ice Melt

concrete corrosion

De-icing salt is great for driver safety, but certain types can be harmful to concrete.

You hate slipping and falling on icy pavement outside of your home or office, you loathe skidding around on the road after a cold night, and you definitely hate dealing with the final product of ice melt—concrete corrosion. While ice melt does a great job at preventing ice from forming and refreezing in snowy areas, it wreaks havoc on your concrete. Here are some tips for making a concrete friendly ice melt that won’t result in major concrete corrosion.

Hold On, Why Shouldn’t I Use Salt Ice Melt on Concrete?

Using sodium chloride or rock salt on concrete leads to spalling, or, concrete corrosion. Over time, small holes, cracks, and breakages will start to appear. Eventually, these small cracks and holes can turn into huge potholes and cracks in the road that require major repairs. To get a little more scientific, there is a reason why these cracks appear that lies below the surface. Concrete is porous, which means that it can absorb moisture easily. When snow and ice melt, even as a result of ice melt, the melted water enters the concrete. Different ice melts freeze at different temperatures, and when they do freeze, the water and ice melt that was taken into the pavement will expand. This is called concrete corrosion.

What is Concrete Friendly Ice Melt?

First, think of what temperatures your area normally drops to over the course of the winter. If you stay mostly above freezing and only dip slightly below, plain old sodium chloride might be fine. If you live in Maryland, chances are you need something that can last until temperatures are 0 degrees or below. Magnesium chloride has a much lower freezing point, so it can be safe on concrete throughout the winter.

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 9th, 2016 at 10:46 am. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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