Mixing it up in the fight against winter by blending liquid ice control chemicals

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler and Richard L. Hanneman
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Spring 2006
For years, dry rock salt has been the mainstay of snowfighting efforts. Salt does not melt snow and ice until it turns to brine. And salt loses its effect and slows its performance as temperatures decline below 15 degrees F. Applying liquids, directly to the roadway or to the dry salt both speeds salt's ice-melting mission and can extend its effective temperature range by applying "hotter" chemicals like CaCl and MgCl. While salt is generally discussed as a freeze-point depressant, deicing power or ice melting capacity is probably a more meaningful measure.