Head To The Kitchen And Grab Table Salt To Easily De-Ice Your Driveway

While the first snowfall of every year is usually a magical moment, it is also true that by the end of the winter season, many people feel that ice and snow tend to just make life more difficult. The situation gets even more complicated when you get a late-season ice storm and realize that you are out of road salt. Luckily, if this ever happens to you, there are a few household items that can help, including used coffee grounds which can help add traction to your sidewalks in a pinch and vinegar which can be used as an eco-friendly alternative to rock salt. However, not everyone always has coffee grounds or vinegar at home. In this situation, it is best to turn to something that you will likely always have on hand — table salt.

Table salt is a great option because it is not only something that almost every household has but also works just as well as road salt at melting ice. In fact, when this idea was tested by USA Today, it was found that table salt started melting the ice quicker than the commercial road salt and was better able to turn the ice to slush. However, the commercial salt was able to penetrate a thicker layer of ice. In the end, the experiment found that after a period of three hours, the results for both types of salt were the same. But, before you go ahead and buy a giant 25-pound bag of Morton table salt, there are a few things you should know.

Despite working just as well as road salt to melt ice in a laboratory setting, table salt is best used as a temporary solution or emergency back-up plan. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that commercial road salt is also mixed with other chemicals to help melt ice at lower temperatures. In fact, many road salt mixtures can melt ice in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Fahrenheit, while table salt can only melt ice in temperatures down to -6 degrees Fahrenheit. On top of this, table salt is typically more expensive than road salt, even when purchased in bulk, making it the less economical option.

However, in a pinch, using table salt to make your driveway safer is a good option (although, just like road salt, it is a mistake to put any table salt on your lawn or garden as it can cause lasting damage to your soil). If you don't have enough table salt to cover your entire driveway and you know a storm is on its way, another option is to coat your pavement in a table salt and water brine before the ice hits to prevent it from sticking to and freezing on your pavement.