Cold weather Mama's~

Arnegard · January 2013

Do you use salt on your walk?

We have had melting the last 2 days. Today doesn't appear to be as warm. In the melting, the walkway to our front door has a 6-8 foot stretch that is solid ice. DH balked at the idea of putting salt on it because it eats the concrete. Yes, I know it does - but we have milk delivery tomorrow morning. I cannot expect anyone to walk over that ice! I had SIL & kids and DH's Gma over for supper last night and had to call them to ask them to come in through the garage!!

I bought salt today and have used it. I just scrapped ice and reapplied salt to the areas that are still slick.

WWYD?

Cherryblossoms07 · January 2013

Yes, I would hate to have someone get hurt. But I must admit that our driveway needs to redone and we will only live here a few years so I am not worried about prolonging it's life.

KatFCo · January 2013

Yes, we use rock salt and when I was growing up in Mass we also used kitty litter. It doesn't melt the ice but it helps with the slickness.

charlatti · January 2013

No, we throw down sand or cat litter when it's needed. We have a dog and the salt is supposed to be really bad for dog paws, plus the concrete issue. So far we've been able to keep things shoveled well enough that it hasn't really been a problem.

ridesbuttons · January 2013

No.

Shovel, ice chipper, sand, kitty litter.

No salt.

Arnegard · January 2013

charlatti:
No, we throw down sand or cat litter when it's needed. We have a dog and the salt is supposed to be really bad for dog paws, plus the concrete issue. So far we've been able to keep things shoveled well enough that it hasn't really been a problem.

We don't have a dog. It was shoveled well. There must have been a ice jam in the gutters causing them to overflow at this point with it thawing. The concrete is not great anyway from the previous owners using salt. We are talking a 6 foot glass looking, sheet of ice.

ariel06 · January 2013

We try not to use salt unless be absolutely have to. We usually use sand.

wheelsonthebus · January 2013

We always salt our driveway and walks. Our driveway is steep. It's a must.

wheelsonthebus · January 2013

KatFCo:
Yes, we use rock salt and when I was growing up in Mass we also used kitty litter. It doesn't melt the ice but it helps with the slickness.

We use kitty litter at times too!

mrswright2006 · January 2013

We usually don't do much except right on the front steps. We don't even shovel most of the time. We use salt, but our steps and sidewalk are poured concrete that are older than me, and the sidewalk is cracked and horrible looking to start with, so I don't have to worry about salt damage. The reason we use salt is because our roof dumps 2 tons of snow and ice on the steps and makes them treacherous. Sand would not do the trick to keep people from hurting themselves.

id012 · January 2013

yeah we have salt and use it. I dont really know anyone who doesnt actually. Around here you can get free salt from the town/city. There have places with piles of it and you have to bring your own container. Maybe call city hall to see if they offer something like that?

shortstuff15 · January 2013

Yes we use salt, but most often it's in early fall/late spring that we do because in the middle of winter it's just snow not ice. Granted we have had similar weather in that it's actually been above zero here and melted some snow and made things slick. Our walks are ok but if they weren't, we'd be salting them for sure.

smerka · January 2013

From my days on the condo board, I think they have a product that is safer for concrete than regular salt. Calcium chlorite maybe? It's slightly more expensive than salt.