In a perfect world, you could use all the ice melt products you want, tossing the stuff around like you’re scattering corn for hungry chickens, and your lawn and plants would continue to thrive, living happily ever after.
But the tough truth is that nearly all ice melt products have “chloride” in their name, which means salt, and green living things hate too much salt.
But not all ice melt products are the same when damaging plants, hurting pets or wrecking concrete.
Let’s learn more about the safest ice-melting products, including:
Is there plant-safe ice melt? What snowmelt products work the best and damage your property and the environment the least?
Anything containing chloride has the potential to damage plants. Treated chloride and brine are the safest for your lawn, plants, and the environment, partly because you can use less.
Read on to learn more.
Here’s a quick rundown of the most common snow removal and ice melt products:
Sodium chloride is straight rock salt, which can burn surrounding lawns and landscaping. It’s bad news. It finds its way into area lakes and streams, killing the creatures that live there.
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.
Magnesium chloride is another common ice melt that’s less harmful to plants than sodium chloride but it can cause significant damage to concrete, reacting with the cement in concrete and leading to corrosion.
Ice melt products labeled as "pet-friendly" typically contain magnesium chloride as the primary active ingredient, as it’s considered safer for pets compared to other common ice melts that can irritate their paws.
Potassium chloride ice melt is generally considered safer than other ice melts like straight rock salt, as it’s less damaging to plants and concrete when used in appropriate amounts. (More on using proper amounts in a bit.)
But it works best at slightly higher temperatures than other ice melts, so it’s not the first choice for icy weather.
Will calcium chloride ice melt kill grass?
Calcium chloride is a common choice for ice melt because it's effective in the coldest temperatures. It’s a relatively safe choice for lawns and landscapes when applied appropriately.
But too much — like any ice melt product — can kill lawns and plants.
Any product with “chloride” in its name contains salt, and too much salt will damage plants.
There are de-icer products on the market that don’t contain any chloride at all, but they’re costly— often more than $130 for just 10 feet of sidewalk. It’s cheaper to replace your grass.
The safest ice-melting product is treated chloride, which we use here at RainMaster on parking lots, sidewalks and steps to keep them safe. We don’t use any products with straight chloride.
Treated chloride and brine do much less harm to the environment than industry-standard, basic rock salt.
RainMaster snow crews use treated rock salt that's less corrosive and much kinder to the environment, making it among the safest ice-melting products.
Also called enhanced rock salt, treated rock salt has additives 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.
Another plus: you can use less treated rock salt than other types of ice melt products, which is automatically better for the environment.
Brine contains chloride, too, but much less than other ice melt, making it among the safest ice melting products.
And it stays where you put it, unlike solid products that easily scatter into grass or plant beds.
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.
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 and makes brine a good choice for plant and pet-friendly ice melt.
When it comes to the safest ice-melting products, the key here isn't just what you use but how much ice-melt product you use.
Most people use five times the amount of ice melt products they need to do the job.
The best thing you can do to prevent salt damage is use only the recommended amount.
One cup of ice melt should treat a 20-foot driveway or 10 sidewalk squares. But many homeowners throw it down by the handfuls. They assume that using more will melt ice faster or better if a small amount melts ice.
But that’s not how science works.
Ice melt products work by lowering the freezing point of water, allowing ice to melt at a lower temperature.
Once a certain amount of ice melt mixes with water, it reaches a saturation point. Adding more won't speed up the melting process, whether using magnesium chloride for ice melt or calcium chloride for snow.
Always follow the recommended application rate for your specific ice melt product.
If you put down the appropriate amount of ice melt, and do not push it off hard surfaces into the grass, it might not kill any plants.
The RainMaster team is certified by Wisconsin Salt Wise, a coalition of organizations from across the state working together to reduce salt pollution in lakes, streams and drinking water.
The group educates residents, leaders and winter maintenance professionals on salt pollution and solutions, provides training and promotes best practices to reduce salt pollution, including using the safest ice-melting products.
The organization offers winter maintenance professionals like RainMaster who clear snow and ice locally-tailored application rate guidelines for using the least salt to get the job done.
They can also voluntarily become certified, as RainMaster has, to demonstrate to their clients that they work for their safety and protect lakes, streams and drinking water.
When we train new crew members, we ask them to put down what they think is the right amount of ice melt product. Most use about two cups in an area where just a half cup is the proper amount.
Using the right amount — not just the safest ice-melting products — is key to preventing damage.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you head out into your yard on the first nice spring day and notice your lawn has ugly burned patches from too much ice melt.
How do you know if the damage is from ice melt products?
There are a few clues:
You might be bummed out to see entire patches of dead lawn due to salt buildup in the soil. The damage often happens in uneven patches, depending on where the salt has accumulated.
What to do about it? Will your grass grow back after salt damage?
Probably not, unless the damage is very minimal. Water the affected area thoroughly to help leach out the salt from the soil.
Then you’ll need to replace the dead areas of grass by re-seeding or installing sod.
First and foremost, you want commercial snow removal in Minneapolis, MN & Eau Claire, WI, that promises reliability, peace of mind, a detailed plan, reduced liability, and solid communication. But you care about the environment, too.
So do we. That’s why we stick to treated rock salt and brine for melting ice and protecting surfaces, train our crews to use only the proper amount of products, and are certified by Wisconsin Salt Wise, a coalition of organizations from across the state working together to reduce salt pollution in lakes, streams and drinking water.
When you’re ready to choose a snow removal professional, we can’t wait to meet you and help you make the best choices for your property with expert professional snow removal in Minneapolis, MN, and Eau Claire, WI.
Ready for dependable snow and ice management? Request a quote today! We’ll review your snow removal options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can rest easy —through all types of winter weather.