Home Sweet Home is presented by The Washington State Housing Finance Commission
Removing snow and ice after a storm can be time-consuming and backbreaking. In fact, over 800,000 patients a year are hospitalized because of a fall injury, and those rates rise every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here are ways to keep your family safe from ice-related accidents this winter.
Traditional Road Salt
Sprinkling road salt to remove snow or ice from your driveway is a familiar technique to anyone living in snowy areas. Applying road salt to your driveway lowers the freezing point of the water around you. When the water has a lower freezing point, it accelerates how fast the ice melts.
Traditional road salt is easy to use: Using a spreader or a shovel, spread the salt across your driveway and wait for it to start working. Road salt is also inexpensive and usually easy to find.
However, you should be aware of the safety concerns. First, road salt can get into water. In fact, 84% of urban streams had chloride concentrations that substantially increased when using road salts, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Second, road salt can be toxic to plants, wildlife, and pets. The two most common pet injuries come from walking on salt or eating it (often when licking off paws), according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. That means you will need to stop a pet from licking melted snow and wipe off paws after coming inside. The ASPCA also warns that salts that claim to be pet-friendly may have safer ingredients but can still cause health problems if pets eat them.
Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride is an alternative to traditional road salt. It is also a crystalline solid that is soluble in water. It usually comes in large chunks that break up when used with a salt spreader.
Compared to road salt, calcium chloride performs better at lower temperatures, requires less coverage, positively affects the nearby soil, and is more gentle on pets’ paws. Another advantage is that calcium chloride releases heat when mixed with water, releasing heat for a faster and more effective melt instead of just lowering water’s freezing point.
There are a few things to note about calcium chloride: It is more expensive than rock salt, harmful to pets if ingested, and can damage your car if you don’t wash it off.
Do-It-Yourself Deicing Solution
You can make a deicing spray using ingredients around the house, according to Kitchn. This solution is safe for concrete and pets, and the diluted solution won’t harm your plants or lawn. To make this solution, combine 1/2 gallon of warm water, 1 teaspoon of blue dish soap, and 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol. Using a landscape sprayer, spray the mixture onto your driveway after a snowstorm to melt the ice.
Snow Melting Mat
Snow melting mats are a convenient way to use technology as a deicer. The mats use electricity and heat-conductive materials to melt snow and provide a slip-proof walkway. They are available as external mats that you can lay on top of the driveway. You can also insert them into your driveway when you pour the concrete. These mats make ice removal effortless and effective.
Windshield Deicing
Ice on your driveway isn’t the only problem a snowstorm can bring. Scraping ice off the windshield is a time-consuming task before a snowy morning commute. A deicing spray minimizes the amount of time you spend before hitting the road. Simply spray it onto your windows and brush it off with a scraper.
Even better, place a towel or piece of cardboard on your windshield before a storm to prevent ice from forming.
Lubricant Aerosol Spray
To prevent your locks from freezing, spray them with a lubricant before wet or cold weather. The spray will prevent ice from forming for a few days.
Whether you have a preferred method or use various products, you can make winter safe by preventing ice-related accidents with these deicing solutions.
Home Sweet Home is brought to you by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission’s Washington Homeowner Assistance Fund. The Homeowners Assistance Fund helps homeowners who have fallen on hard times because of the pandemic. Call 1-877-894-4663 for more information on how they can help.
