Is there any real ice-melt or de-ice chemical that is good for the environment?

Question

Want to know if any of the rock salt type stuff is actually good for the enviroment. I currently use Calcium Chloride...

Answer 1

No, any chemical or substance (even sand) changes the ecology of the affected area.

Answer 2

Any ingredient that dissolves in water can be used to lower the freezing point of water.

Sugar would work just like salt... Just slightly not as well and a LOT more expensive.

Salt isn't all that bad for the environment... Just depends on the quantity that you use and how diluted it will eventually be when the melt washes it into the soil.

Sodium is a naturally occurring substance and as long as it gets mixed with enough water it isn't that bad for the soil.

Besides... If you want to go on the logic of the Anti-Splenda Sweetener people...

Calcium Chloride is made from Calcium and Chlorine and as we know Chlorine is DANGEROUS and DEADLY!

If eating Splenda will supposedly cause you to die as if your were drinking bleach then calcium chloride might just kill everything it touches!

LOL! I kid, but I hope you take the point...

I have heard that rain-x and even a thin coat of veggie oil on the windshield and windows of your car can help you scrape the ice and snow off more easily.

I'm currently trying to figure out a way to impregnate clay with salt so that I can have a de-ice AND grit substance in one handful since the bottom of my stairs are a giant ice rink from November to April!

Worst case… Use sand to grit your walk… You will have to sweep it up come summer but it is safer then any type of “Chemical”.

Answer 3

Yeah

Sunshine and warm temperatures.

Answer 4

Salts corrosive, kills grass too,but both work

Answer 5

Use of the universal solvent at temperatures of 100 degrees  Centigrade, will melt the ice rapidly.  Be careful, it's at the boiling point of water, it has no detrimental ecological effects other than a very temporary rising of the temperature of the surfaces on which it is applied.  When applied to a windshield, the windshield will probably break so it not advised. A very large amount is necessary to melt the ice on a sidewalk or stairs.

   The universal solvent is readily available to everyone at the nearest water faucet.  

  A second choice but less costly, is any dark colored substance such as dirt or coal dust or black sand spread on a surface and solar radiation is then allowed to raise the temperature of the  ice  until it melts.

  If a sidewalk is covered with snow or ice, shoveling to a bare surface, will allow radiation to raise the temperature and then evaporate all of the adjoining frozen material.

    Time will eventually melt the covering. As will a pineapple express such as hit the Oregon coast last week.    Jim.

Answer 6

There is a new option made from corn...many states in the Midwest are applying it on the roads as it is non corrosive and safe for the enironment.

Answer 7

Used properly, plain old rock salt (NaCl) is the best choice.  It is a natural product that is found in the environment.

Answer 8

At least for light snow, I use wood ash from my stove. It changes the albedo, so the snow absorbs the sunlight instead of reflecting it and I get a faster melt. I should add that I live in the East, where the soil is acid. The ash would not be of benefit on alkaline soil.