Sidewalk Ice Melt

super99

Well-known Member
We decided to have a new slab poured in front of our church last spring. It's about 12'X30'and connects to about 10' of new sidewalk. The contractor didn't get the job done until August. What can we use for ice melt? I'm sure that we will have ice here in NW Illinois before winter is over and we don't want anyone, especially old people falling down. Most all of the ice melt I have looked at says not to use on cement less than a year old. I did find some at Ace hardware that is made from corn that is supposed to work really well, but it has the same warning on the bag. Is there anything we can use that won't harm the new cement? Seems like I have heard to use pelleted nitrogen to melt ice and if won't kill the grass. Any suggestions?? Thanks, Chris
 
Most of that stuff is hard even on older concrete. I have to be really careful and keep salt on my stoop. Some of the folks I do taxes for can hardly stand on their own when the ground is dry. Put a couple of steps and some ice in the mix and it gets pretty scary. That darn ice melt stuff has taken it's toll on my walkways over the years.
 
Check out the specs on urea. We use it at work it will melt but half as good as salt. It will kill grass if you use a lot of it just like over fertilizing your lawn.

You could just use sand for the year.
 
The nitrogen or salt will ruin the surface finish of the concrete. This first year I would not use anything other than something organic with grit. IE. sand, floor dry, cat litter. or etc.

Then next year seal the concrete and then use white potash (potassium chloride) instead of regular salt. Easier on the concrete and will not hurt the grass as easy.
 
I would seal it now before using anything for ice melt.
Certainly hope you used air entrained concrete as it is much more resistant to freeze/thaw and deicing salts.
 
If your church has the budget these are nice. I just installed a few of these at work and everybody really likes them. No maintenance, no shoveling, and no ice milt being tracked into the building messing up the floors.

Greg
Heated Mats
 
Concrete has capillaries, and the salty slush will be absorbed by it. If there is steel reinforcing close to the surface, when the salt causes that to rust, it expands several times its original size, and will spall the concrete. Just something to be aware of. Safer to get that slab cleaned off timely and use sand.

I find that if its a sunny area and you get that snow off, cleanly, the sun may just do the rest, though that may not always be the case, doing a good job of removing the snow, sand being darker, the sun will eventually melt through whats left.
 
That's why it's important to trowel it smooth, then broom it, it closes the pores somewhat. Too many people just bull float it and then broom it, allows it to absorb the water and salt worse.
 
I would agree, you need that "cream" layer or so I've heard it called, seals up better. Hot weather can really screw up a finish, exposing aggregate prematurely from normal wear or worse.
 

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