For many parts of the world, the new year brings snow, ice and frigid temperatures. Black ice has a sneaky way of accumulating on porches, stairs and driveways, posing a risk to homeowners.
Melting the ice around your home is one way to protect yourself and your family members from falling and getting seriously injured. If you live in an area that experiences ice and snow, you've probably used store-bought salt at one point or another. Not only is it expensive, it also contains chemical ingredients that can destroy that environment and ruin your yard!
Environmental Effects Of Salt
Ice melts such as salt can end up eroding your driveway and having a negative effect on the environment. If too much salt is used, it destroys foliage and grass. The rock salt used to melt snow and ice seeps into the natural environment and causes dehydration. It also harms root growth, disrupts nutrient uptake and causes injury to new seed germination, stems, leaves and flowers. The second most visible environmental impact of excess salt is damage to infrastructure. This includes roads, bridges, parking decks, sidewalks, doorways and flooring. The chloride in salt accelerates erosion. When used in excess, salt can cause concrete that isn't properly sealed to deteriorate. Perhaps the most important environmental impact of salt is its effect on our freshwater resources. Chloride in surface waters can be toxic to many forms of freshwater aquatic life. Contaminants from salt used for ice and snow can enter fresh water resources by infiltration to groundwater, runoff to surface water and through storm drains. The chlorides are discharged into these water systems and have no way of filtering out naturally.
DIY Mix To Melt Ice And Snow
This year, try a simple DIY mix instead that's just as effective as salt, much cheaper and safer for the environment. Here's how: Ingredients- 1/2 Gallon of warm water
- 6 Drops of environmentally safe dish soap
- 2 Ounces of rubbing alcohol
- Fill up a container with 1/2 gallon of warm water.
- Add 6 drops of environmentally safe dish soap and 2 ounces of rubbing alcohol.
- Stir the mixture and try it outside!
- Tip: Put the mixture in a spray bottle for easy application. You can also use the spray on your car to help get rid of frost on your windshield.
