posted 12/15/08 09:37 PM | updated 12/15/08 09:56 PM
Views: 679 | Comments : 4 | Community

What not to use to de-ice your sidewalk

By jseattle
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Newps experiments with snow
Originally uploaded by
Jess, Beemouse Labs

It's a little ridiculous for me to be doling out advice about cold and ice -- I grew up in California. But the NorCal hippie in me has to say something:

Please, don't use salt to melt the ice on your sidewalk.

So, what is safe to use? Let's turn to a city that knows cold (and, btw, has a Capitol Hill of its own). Denver suggests kitty litter or sand. Here's an interesting discussion of the effectiveness for both options.

If you only have salt around the house (my predicament tonight), better to make things safe than not. But try to pick up a bag of litter the next time you are out and about.

Tags: weather, snow, ice, environment, kitties + add tags
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Also
Whatever you do, do not use water and a hose to spray the sidewalk off the morning after a busy night at the club when ice is predicted. Baltic Room, I'm looking at you.
Comment by Wesa
December 15, 2008
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Salt saves lives
Salt melts ice much better than kitty litter and sand do. (Neither of kitty litter or sand actually help to melt ice; they're just supposed to provide more traction, which they don't in practice.) I walk all over town. Places that use salt are passable. Everywhere else, where people either use kitty litter or nothing, I slip and fall.

I'll happily pay Al Gore for some salt offsets if he starts selling them. Salt protects me and my fellow pedestrians from falling down and injuring ourselves.
Comment by Jason
December 15, 2008
( +5 votes ) Recommend this
Also whatever you do
Don't use the clumping kind of kitty litter. None of that new-fangled stuff. You need to get a bag of the old-fashioned litter, like Johnny Cat. (Or you will have an icky mess--heard it second-hand, but the source saw it first-hand.)
Comment by Joannie
December 16, 2008
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it's a matter of degree
the amount of salt an individual would or would not put down on their sidewalk is a drop in the bucket compared to what municipal and state crews will be spreading over our streets. the city of seattle uses enviro-friendly de-icers, but if you have a sidewalk in front of your house, you should salt it to break up the ice and then clear it with a shovel or a broom so that it doesn't re-freeze.
Comment by some dude
December 17, 2008
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