When icy winds are trying to turn your commercial property’s flat surfaces into skating rinks, you want your property to be clear and safe, and you might not be picky about the types of ice melt your commercial snow removal service uses.
Maybe you remember your dad dumping so much rock salt on your icy sidewalk that people had to step around the mounds to pass.
Times have changed, as have our choices in ice-melting products and our knowledge about what’s safest for the environment.
Keep reading to learn more, including:
What snowmelt products work the best and damage your property and the environment the least?
Here at RainMaster Lawn Systems, we use two main types of ice melt on parking lots, sidewalks and steps to keep them safe: treated rock salt and brine.
These two products do much less harm to the environment than industry-standard, basic rock salt.
The Problem with Rock Salt
Some types of ice melt products are terrible for the environment.
Traditional rock salt—sodium chloride—finds its way into area lakes and streams, killing the creatures that live there.
Traditional salt can burn surrounding landscaping, too. It also creates pits in concrete, hurting your property when it gets tracked into buildings, damaging everything from floors to door frames.
But it’s the cheapest and easiest-to-get ice-melting product, so it’s still widely used by commercial snow removal services.
There are better options:
What Is Treated Rock Salt?
RainMaster snow crews use treated rock salt that's less corrosive and much kinder to the environment.
Also called enhanced rock salt, treated rock salt has additives sprayed on it to improve its performance and reduce its environmental impact.
Treated rock salt increases the melting point of snow and ice, allowing it to work in below-freezing temperatures that would otherwise be too cold for other snow melt products like untreated rock salt.
The addition of magnesium chloride or calcium chloride allows this performance boost. Our treated salt works at -20 degrees.
Treated rock salt is less corrosive than regular rock salt and stays put better, with less bouncing around. Less scattering means it stays where needed and sticks to the surface better than other ice-melting products.
We need to use less treated rock salt, which is automatically better for the environment.
Brine as An Alternative to Rock Salt
Brine is a crucial part of our commercial snow removal services for reasons you’ll appreciate.
When it comes to maintaining safety during icy conditions, quick and efficient melting is essential to reduce the risk of slippery surfaces. Traditional rock salt can effectively melt ice, but it often harms plants and surfaces alike, leading to potential damage that lasts long after the ice is gone.
In contrast, brine offers a superior alternative for ice melting. This solution accelerates the melting process and ensures a safer application, protecting your landscaping and driveways.
By using brine, you can effectively manage icy conditions without compromising the health of your plants or the integrity of your surfaces, making it an ideal choice for winter maintenance.
What Is Ice-Melting Brine?
Brine is a liquid mixture of water and salt sprayed on parking lots, roads and walkways, often before a snow or ice storm, to prevent snow and ice from sticking. Commercial snow removal services can also use brine after a snow or ice event depending on the amount of snow.
When snow and ice fail to stick to hard surfaces, snow-clearing operations like shoveling and plowing can finish the job more easily, eliminating the need to apply ice-melting products after snow removal.
Once our crews apply brine on your parking lots, walkways and steps, it stays put. It doesn’t migrate into your lawn or planting beds, damaging your landscaping.
It’s safer for surfaces, too. Brine doesn’t stick to the bottom of shoes and boots and gets tracked into buildings the way rock salt does. That means less cleanup and less costly damage to your floors, rugs and doorways.
Brine is Safer for the Environment Than Salt
Yes, brine contains salt, but at a much lower percentage than ice-melting products like traditional rock salt.
We can treat your property with much less salt per square foot, which is much gentler on the environment.
Brine is great for pre-treating your property when ice is forecast. We can apply it up to three days before a weather event, and it’s ready to work as soon as ice moves in.
Liquid brine starts melting that first dusting of slippery snow immediately and keeps it from sticking to the surface of your parking lots, sidewalks and steps.
Your main concerns are safety and liability. To reduce the chance of anyone slipping and falling, you want to prevent slick surfaces on your property.
Brine reduces liability on your commercial property, with less harmful environmental impact than other ice-melting products.
Need Reliable, Effective Commercial Snow Removal Services? Trust RainMaster
Knowing what types of ice melt your commercial snow removal service uses is important, but your expectations go beyond that.
You expect reliability. Peace of mind. A detailed plan. Reduced liability. Solid communication.
We aim to help you stop worrying and maintain a functional and safe commercial property.
When you’re ready to trust in us, we can’t wait to meet you and help you make the best choices for your property.
Ready for dependable professional snow removal in Minneapolis, MN & Eau Claire, WI? Request a quote today! We’ll review your snow removal options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can rest easy and stop worrying when snow piles up.
