Winter Ice Melting Products

 

Ice Melt Comparison Chart

Ice Melt Price List

Guardian / Safe-T-Salt / Halite : Rock Salt Crystals (good)

Lowest cost of any ice melts product effective down to about 10 degrees F. We supply a high quality salt product that penetrates deeply to loosen ice and provide traction, safety, and form a residual film to retard future ice and snow accumulation. The key to a good quality salt product is not to have fines in the salt. The best salt is one that has consistently sized crystals. Most other suppliers of salt have mixed crystal sizes, which is cheaper for them to package but does not provide the best ice melting characteristics. Guardian is a smaller crystal than Safe-T-Salt. The smaller size is often preferred in motorized salt spreaders to eliminate clogging, but the larger size Morton crystal will last longer on the surface of the ice.

Solar Salt

Solar Salt is basically fine rock salt without many of the impurities contained in ordinary rock salt. This is the salt used by most ice melt blenders when making more effective blended ice melt mixtures. The smaller crystal size allows it to be used in spreaders with far less clogging or jams. There is also slightly less tracking than ordinary rock salt.

Safe-Step / Winter Storm: Primarily Potassium Chloride with a mix of some Sodium Chloride (better)

The melting characteristics are similar to rock salt, which is effective down to about 0F. Ice Melt is preferred over salt because it is relatively clean and does not leave a visible residue when tracked onto carpets and floors. It is also safer to use than salt around grass and vegetation.

Professional ICE MELTER/POWER THAW/Miracle MELT/Road Crew/Winter Storm Blue

These are blended salts. These are usually the most effective bang for your buck. They contain blends of usually four different ice melting salts: potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, and calcium chloride, and sometimes an added ingredient to give it more effectiveness. While the Professional Ice Melter is our favorite (-15) based on price, ecology, and performance, each has its advantages. Professional (in our opinion and personal tests) has the least damage to the environment, is safest for pets, melts to –15, and seems to last longer. Power Thaw (-25) and Miracle Melt (-20) melt to a colder temperature, but don’t have a homogenous crystal, so they can be slightly more dusty when spreading, slightly more corrosive, although both are far less corrosive than rock salt. For dumping into spreaders on the back of a pickup in blustery weather, nothing seems to beat Professional, with Winter Storm Blue (0 to –5) close behind. For speed of melting where dust is not a problem, Power Thaw is great.

Sno-Melt: Calcium Chloride (better yet)

Calcium Chloride is one of the most powerful and effective ice-melters available. It does not leave a residue when it is tracked indoors, will not harm vegetation, and is very safe to use on concrete. It also has excellent melting characteristics, down to -25 to -50F. The pellets quickly melt through ice and undercut and remove the ice from surfaces. 

FreezGard/DustGard/Mag/Winter Storm Mag: Magnesium Chloride (best?)

Melts more snow and ice at lower temperatures than other common deicers. This is one of the most powerful and effective ice-melters available. It does not leave a residue when it is tracked indoors, will not harm vegetation, and is safest to use on concrete. It also has excellent melting characteristics, down to -25 to -50F. The pellets quickly melt through ice and undercut and remove the ice from surfaces. It works almost as quickly as calcium chloride (almost immeasurable difference), but its better environmental safety and non-tracking characteristics make it the BEST ice melt we have. Its one drawback, much like calcium chloride, is that its ability to draw moisture from the environment (a positive quality) tends to either turn an open bag to water, or allow it to cake. It is best to keep whatever container it is in tightly sealed.

Mountain Melt (best?)

Mountain Melt is a new product for us. Our tests to this point find it to be very effective as an anti-icer and deicer. Its melting power seems to last longer than any of the above. It is a blend of solar salt and a sugar (Biomelt) derived from corn. This sugar boosts its effectiveness to well below zero. With this corn sugar additive, far less chlorides are introduced into the environment than with any of the other granular salts. It is very long lasting, tracks little, and melts well.

LIQUID PRODUCTS (SAFEST PRODUCTS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT)

We also carry liquid ice melts. They are called Geomelt and Biomelt. Used straight as liquids, they use no chlorides to melt. Geomelt uses beet sugars, while Biomelt uses corn sugars. They can melt from 0 to 55 below. We stock Biomelt D55C. While it can be used as a deicer, it is most effective as an anti-icer. It prevents ice from bonding with the pavement, so shoveling and plowing is much easier and more effective. In our own tests, a plow blade cleaned straight to the pavement where Biomelt was sprayed, while leaving a very thin snow layer where none was used. They can be used on bridges, decks, and parking structures, where corrosion is a problem, without worry of chloride run off. GEOMELT and BIOMELT added to solar salt allow much less salt to be used to melt the same amount of ice and can save taxpayer dollars and the environment in doing so. GEOMELT and BIOMELT can be sprayed on salt piles to prevent caking, in truck beds to prevent sticking and corrosion, and sprayed on salt at the spreader to prevent bounce and scatter off the roadway. It can be sprayed on coal piles at electrical plants to also stop caking, or on sand piles to prevent freezing. The future of ice melt use belongs to this product.

In Summary

The things to watch out for with any ice melt are whether it is safe for vegetation, whether it is safe for concrete (or brick), whether it will stain carpets and floors if tracked indoors, and to what temperature it will still work effectively. Also, while the better ice melts tend to be more expensive per pound, less is required to melt more. The net effect of buying the more expensive product is often equalized by using less per square foot to melt the same amount of ice. Still, if an employee can not be trained to use less, you may wish to buy the cheaper melt, if there are no other deciding issues. Our personal favorites are the Mag products and Mountain Melt.