American Home Shield said you can try table salt, but don't use a lot because it could harm grass and plants. Epsom salt also works but is more expensive. Sugar works like salt, but is again more expensive than table salt. Rubbing alcohol will also help melt ice.
Not even non-porous surfaces are safe. Salts (both sulfates like epsom salt and chlorides like table salt) can react chemically with many minerals found in masonry and cement.
The most expensive, yet safest type of driveway salt is calcium magnesium acetate! This salt will not cause any damage to your driveway, and it's also pet-friendly and environmentally friendly!
This could be a safety hazard, especially if the driveway is steep or used by pedestrians. Epsom salt could also potentially cause discoloration of the concrete if it is left on the surface for an extended period of time.
As the regular table salt, Epsom salt also melts the ice but in a very slow manner and is also costlier than regular salt. Epsom salt, also called Magnesium Sulfate, can be used for melting ice in the same process as normal salt. The freezing point of ice is lowered and thereby melting the ice or snow.
Rock salt (sodium chloride) has been the conventional choice to melt ice on driveways and sidewalks as salt has a lower freezing point than water. Rock salt is effective to approximately 12°F, but can damage soils, kill plants and grass, and cause driveway and car problems.
While this is an effective method for melting ice and snow, the question is, does salt damage your concrete? The answer is yes, salt does indirectly damage your concrete driveways, patios and sidewalks.
Salt corrodes concrete beneath the surface, resulting in discolored, cracked, and crumbling concrete. It is caused mainly by chemicals reacting with the pavement surface. Salt reduces the freezing point of water. It increases the pressure of frozen water, amplifying the freeze-thaw cycle's effect.
The short answer is yes. In the winter, road salt is used to thaw ice and snow on roads, driveways, and sidewalks. Because concrete is naturally porous, it easily absorbs water from melted ice and snow, leading to corrosion beneath the concrete surface. This leads to discolored, cracked, and crumbling concrete.
Temperature matters.
Most salts stop working when pavement temperatures fall below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead of salt, a small amount of sand (or cat litter) can be used; it won't melt the ice but can help with traction.
Magnesium Chloride
This option is also considered one of the best and safest products for concrete. It's not effective at as low a temperature as calcium chloride, but it isn't considered corrosive and can be safely used around plants and landscaping.
Clear all snow from driveways and sidewalks before it turns to ice. Salt should only be used after the snow is removed and only in areas needed for safety.
Salt levels above 1500 ppm can be corrosive in a spa depending on the pH. The recommended level to get the most from Epsom salts is 20,000ppm. Yes, you read that correctly. This means one of the metals will be corroded, quite often the heater element or parts of the pump.
Epsom salt is the market name for hydrated MgSO4 and adding 1 milliliter of it per 10 liters of water will increase the permanent hardness by roughly 70 mg/L CaCO3.
Adding Epsom salts to soil that already has sufficient magnesium can actually harm your soil and plants, such as by inhibiting calcium uptake. Spraying Epsom salt solutions on plant leaves can cause leaf scorch. Excess magnesium can increase mineral contamination in water that percolates through soil.
Calcium Magnesium Acetate – Calcium Magnesium Acetate is another reliable and safe alternative to rock salt on concrete. It has incredible melting power and exothermic properties.
What is the safest ice melt for concrete? Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) and Sodium Acetate (NAAC) are often considered the finest concrete-safe ice melt solutions available. When applied to concrete, both CMA and sodium acetate are much less corrosive than a number of other ice salts.
To summarize the difference between salt or sand for snow and ice: Sand simply covers up snow and ice. Salt melts snow and ice. Which is better depends on how cold it is, and how much you care if it gets into the environment.
Driveway salt, sometimes called rock salt, is what you will want. If you want to provide traction and melt the ice, use salt and not just sand. A combination of salt and sand can be used for this, or salt alone. Salting in extremely cold temperatures will not work well, as salt is only effective up to -12 degrees.
Morton Rock Salt
One of the quickest ways to prevent snow and ice accumulation on your driveway is good old rock salt. This is the cheap way to go about it, but it does have some drawbacks.
Rock Salt
The most common way to de-ice your driveway is to use rock salt. We drop about five-million tonnes of the stuff every year to prevent our driveways, steps and sidewalks from becoming mini skating rinks. The benefit: it's cheap and available everywhere.
For a solution you can stow away year-round, combine two parts rubbing alcohol with one part warm water in a spray bottle and spray the solution onto the surface of your sideway or driveway to gradually melt the ice.