Warning: My neighbor's tip about pouring salt on driveway ice was a total fail

My neighbor Bob at 142 Maple Street told me to spread table salt on my icy driveway last January. He said it works just as good as the expensive stuff. I dumped a whole 5-pound bag on a 20-foot patch. It barely melted anything and just made a slushy mess that refroze overnight. I ended up slipping anyway. Next time I'm just buying the real ice melt from Home Depot for $8 a bag. Has anyone else had this happen with regular salt?

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holly_green8216d ago

That whole thing drives me crazy because it's such a common myth that gets passed around in every neighborhood. People think table salt is just a cheaper version of ice melt, but it's totally different stuff with a much lower melting point. Regular salt basically stops working once the temp drops below about 15 degrees, which is exactly when you actually need it most. You see this pattern everywhere too, not just with ice but with cleaning products and even car maintenance where people grab the cheap version without checking if it's actually made for the job. Bob meant well but that's a classic case of a little bit of knowledge making things worse. The $8 bag from Home Depot is definitely the way to go.