With winter in full swing, it is officially how-to-melt-the-ice-in-your-driveway season. And if you’re looking to melt snow and ice quickly from your driveway, then you’ve come to the right place.
While snow days tend to be all fun and games, an icy driveway is truly a disaster waiting to happen. As freezing temperature sets in, things can get hazardous. No need to worry as the weather hits its freezing point, however. Stay tuned to learn how to melt ice quickly and keep your property safe this winter.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, 24% of weather-related vehicle crashes occur on snowy, slushy, or icy pavement. Driving your car up and down an slick driveway poses a greater risk for accidents. Not to mention, it becomes harder for you and your family to traverse the slippery surfaces on foot.
Additionally, if you don’t clear the snow and ice from your driveway, then you will end up having to park your car in the snow, slush, and ice. While you might not think anything of this, parking atop snow or ice exposes the underbelly of your car to moisture for an extended period, which can cause corrosion.
And if that isn’t enough for you, ice can damage your driveway’s foundation. As the ice melts, the meltwater seeps into the cracks and crevices of your driveway. If that meltwater freezes (overnight, for example), the ice enlarges and widens the cracks and fissures, which creates extensive damage.
Each year, state and local agencies spend millions of dollars repairing infrastructure damage that is caused by ice and snow.
Here’s everything you need to know about melting driveway ice quickly:
First things first, you need to shovel the snow off your driveway. If you don’t, you risk posing damage to your driveaway, your vehicle, and yourself (see above!).
Use a snow shovel or blower to get all the fresh snow off your driveway. Then, you’ll be able to start deicing the ice that is left beneath it.
When shoveling, make sure to opt for a sturdy, metal shovel. You don’t want to use a gashed or broken shovel, as you risk damaging your driveway. If shoveling is a bit too much for the snow accumulation, consider a snow blower as an alternative.
After you’ve shoveled all the fresh snow away, the next step to deicing your driveway is to throw down some rock salt, table salt, or deicers. To make things easier on you, we recommend using a spreader that will help streamline the process. Spreaders also ensure you aren't using too much salt.
Note that rock salt is toxic to the environment, and you should avoid getting it anywhere other than your driveway.
Another trick for removing ice from your driveway is dousing it with rubbing alcohol. If you’re taking this route, look for 70% isopropyl alcohol in a quart or gallon spray bottle.
You don’t have to dilute the rubbing alcohol with water or anything. Simply spray it atop your driveway, then come back in about 30 minutes to shovel the loose ice to the side.
(Although it is not necessary to dilute rubbing alcohol, combining it with hot water can help melt stubborn ice patches.)
As you may or may not know, rock salt is incredibly good at its job. What that means is that it can burn your lawn and kill your foliage if it accidentally gets into your lawn or flowerbeds. Not to mention, overly salty soil can become depleted of microorganisms.
Therefore, it’s important to be extra careful when spreading rock salt. You want to make sure it remains only on top of your driveway.
Rock salt — as well as other deicers like calcium or sodium chloride — can be toxic for your pets. Therefore, you should make sure they don’t ingest it.
Pets ingest rock salt by licking it directly, eating melted snow or ice that contains rock salt, or licking their paws after walking atop it. For their safety, make sure they stay away from your salted driveway.
If you suspect that your pet has ingested rock salt, you should take them to an animal poison control center or hospital immediately. Symptoms of ingestion include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, lethargy, tremors, seizures, shortness of breath, and disorientation.
After you’ve salted your driveway, it’s yet again time to pick up the snow shovel to remove snow. After salting or deicing, the ice will take about 30 minutes to soften, and then you’ll be able to scrape what’s left off your driveway.
We recommend using a sturdy shovel made of metal to remove ice, and you should make sure to clear all the slush, or else it will freeze again overnight.
For speedier results, you could spray the ice with warm water from your garden hose. This melts ice faster, which streamlines the entire process. If you don’t have easy access to a hose, you could boil some water in a pot and pour it over any stubborn patches of ice. You can also utilize dish soap in conjunction with hot water spraying.
If you’re worried about the harmful effects of rock salt on your lawn or your pet’s paws — or simply if you don’t have any on hand — you could try using an alternative deicer. Magnesium chloride pellets, sand, or even kitty litter will do the trick. Just add them to your spreader and let it work its magic. Snow melt mats are also another useful DIY option.
Now that we’ve gone over how to melt ice quickly from your driveway, we want to take a few minutes to go over what NOT to do:
While using vinegar as a deicer sounds good in theory, it’s not very effective. Vinegar freezes at about the same temperature as the water. Vinegar, just like water, refreezes at a similar rate.
If you’re looking for a freeze-resistant deicer, we recommend mixing hot water with rubbing alcohol instead.
If you’re using rock salt repeatedly over a long period of time, it is a threat to damage your concrete driveway. Because concrete has a lot of tiny pores covering its surface, it easily absorbs water.
Rock salt contains calcium chloride, and as the salty snowmelt seeps into the concrete’s pores, the calcium hydroxide present in the concrete reacts with the calcium chloride. This reaction forms calcium oxychloride crystals, which can expand inside the concrete to cause cracks and crumbling. This damage is then furthered by the freeze-thaw cycle that is commonly experienced throughout the winter months.
Therefore, to protect your concrete driveway from extensive cracks and damage, we recommend opting for a non-salt deicer, like sand or kitty litter.
Did you know that different shovels are used to remove different kinds of snow? A larger shovel works well for light and fluffy snow, while a smaller shovel is made to remove heavy, wet snow (the kind of snow that gets piled up along the edge of your driveway by snowplows).
If you’re using a snow shovel to chip ice off your driveway, we recommend going with a heavy, flat metal spade for optimal results. Also, be careful not to use a gashed or damaged shovel, as it could damage your driveway.
When you’re shoveling snow and deicing your driveway, it is important to remember that safety always comes first. While this might surprise you, Nationwide Children’s reported that snow shoveling leads to approximately 100 deaths and 11,500 severe injuries each year. Injuries can also occur during the ice melting process.
Therefore, you should always execute caution when shoveling snow and working atop melted ice. Make sure you bundle up (including gloves, hats, tons of layers, and wool socks) to avoid hypothermia. Also, make sure to drink plenty of water and take lots of rest breaks!
Additionally, if you’re choosing to use rock salt to melt the ice in your driveway, make sure both your children and pets don’t accidentally ingest it. Rock salt is incredibly toxic, and anyone who ingests it should be taken to a poison control center or hospital immediately.
Nearly 70% of the nation’s population lives in a snowy region. At one point or another, most of us are going to have to think about melting the ice in our driveways this winter.
When the time comes, follow these guidelines to learn how to melt ice efficiently and safely. And as always, keep checking our blog for more tips and tricks on how to take care of your property this winter.
Table of Contents Why You Need Storage for the Big Move? Security Organization Convenience Flexibility Cost-effectiveness The Best Storage Containers for Moving 1. 1-800-PACK-RAT 2. PODS (Portable On-Demand Storage) 3. U-Haul U-Box 4. SMARTBOX 5. Zippy Shell Storage Containers are Useful for Big Moves Moving can be a daunting task, especially when dealing with the […]
Table of Contents Why Convert My Tub into a Walk-In Shower? How to Convert Your Tub into a Walk-In Shower 1. Assess the Space and Plumbing 2. Plan for Your Remodel Trash 3. Remove the Bathtub 4. Prepare the Floor and Walls 5. Install the Shower Base 6. Tile the Shower Area 7. Install Fixtures […]