Black Ice Alert! Don’t Kill Your Landscape with Ice Melt.
Heres some info on de-icers….but don’t kill your landscape with ice melt. Thanks to Angie’s List for the info below. Got any other ideas/thoughts/local shops that sell earth-friendly de-icing items? PLEASE SHARE.
Over the years, several effective deicing products have been developed to eliminate slippery surfaces. However, some of them may end up damaging plants in the landscape, flooring in your house or harming pets. Here are the most common deicing opt…ions, and how they might affect you:
Sodium chloride — While generally the least expensive deicing product, rock salt doesn’t work well in temperatures below 25 degrees and can leach into the soil, changing the chemical balance to toxic levels.
Calcium chloride — Works well at temperatures below zero and is considered less harmful to vegetation. But it can leave behind a slippery residue that can be harmful to carpet, tile, shoes and your pet’s feet. This product can be up to three times more expensive than rock salt, but you don’t need to use as much.
Calcium magnesium acetate — Can cost 10 times more than rock salt, but it’s salt-free and biodegradable. It won’t harm the environment and is less corrosive to concrete than salt.
Urea — Primarily used as a fertilizer, urea has a lower potential to damage vegetation compared to potassium chloride, but it still has the potential to burn your lawn, shrubs and other plants. It can also contaminate runoff water with nitrates in the spring.