There are fewer things dangerous around your home than an icy drive and walkway. What homeowners have to balance is keeping the driveway safe for people, but undamaged from the ice melter. Add in environmental impact, and pet safety, and keeping your driveway ice-free might almost feel like a full-time job. Here’s OUR advice on how to melt ice without damaging your driveway.
First things first, try to avoid salt. If you have an asphalt driveway, salt won’t directly hurt it, it can indirectly hurt it. Rock salt or other salt-based de-icers will melt snow and ice, and thereby encourage water to seep into your driveway through small cracks and pores. From there, the freeze-thaw cycle takes over, and the ice/water inside your driveway will expand and contract, cause cracks, and without proper maintenance, eventually potholes.
Other alternatives to driveway salt would be water softener pellets, dry kitty litter, sand, and calcium chloride. All have their pros and cons. While softener pellets and calcium chloride both melt the ice, they do so at a slower rate than the salt. Kitty litter and sand will both help you get a better grip on ice but do not melt the ice.
Do you have questions about maintaining your asphalt driveway or parking lot? Reach out to us! We have the experience and expertise to help!
