Ice Melt Alternatives

It’s that time of year again! For some of us, there are special challenges around keeping our entry safe for family, the delivery folks and guests.

If you have a nice flat walking path to a covered entry- all you need is a shovel and some ice melt. But wait! Before sprinkling anything down there are a few things you should look for.

Some ice melt products can be very harmful to certain surfaces or your pets. Concrete is especially susceptible to calcium damage if the concrete is new or the product is overused. Read the labels carefully and if you must put down salt, do it sparingly.

Last winter, I went to see a previous client in Weston about another renovation in the middle of February. They have a long sloped walk that leads to an entry that ends up collecting a lot of snow and drips. The sloped walk keeps water flowing when it melts and freezing on the path in the cold which makes this an ongoing maintenance issue, even with a mild winter.

If you have wood steps like mine, you know that a mild day of drizzle with below freezing temperatures overnight leaves a very slick surface. If you have a slope with an area of runoff that makes the ice difficult to keep up with, constant snow melt can damage the steps and be very time consuming to keep up with.

That Weston client had these rubber mats leading down the walk that were heated and were also very skid resistant. I decided to try them on for size in a very unusual lay-out as shown. Last year I had temporary pressure treated wood on there and didn’t mind throwing salt and sand on them. I couldn’t imagine salting the new Ipe walk, and I had to promise my wife that I would buy these mats if we went with wood over masonry so the morning walk to the bus wasn’t a daring act of balance.

A couple of quick notes:

1. What you see cost about $1k (my in-laws are worth it).
   
   
2. Most exterior outlets are 15 amps. Each 5’ section is 2.4 amps and each step is .7 amps.

I didn’t need a new circuit like my friend Bob in Weston but I did buy a remote so I wouldn’t have to go outside to turn them on. You could add an outlet with a timer switch if that works for you and only run them when you need them. In my test today, they warmed up in about 10 minutes while 25 degrees outside and the manufacturer says it melts 2” per hour.

Happy Winter! – Ray