Clearing Your Home's Sidewalk and the truth on Rock Salt.

CLEARING YOUR HOME’S SIDEWALK:

Does Salt really hurt?

By EFynch, homeowner advice

Baltimore, MD- Does salt really hurt the concrete around your home?

The short answer, yes. The old fashioned rock salt is cheap and plentiful but in most cases can damage your concrete driveway, patio and sidewalk. Concrete is porous and when salt is applied it can be absorbed, freezes, etc.- causing flaking and cracking. If the concrete was done properly, the chances of this happening are reduced however in our estimation (based on gut feelings and not facts), 90% of the concrete that we see may be subject to salt degradation!

There are also cases where too much salt can be applied to correctly cured concrete so therefore no sidewalk is immune- we recommend avoiding rock salt in any case where concrete (or pets) are present.

As an alternative, you want to find a product which contains Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium Chloride or (the more expensive) Glycols as the main ingredient. There are several “hybrids” that may contain a mixture of all these materials with some Sodium (salt). They are effective at lower temperatures, reduce the risk of concrete flaking and help reduce the cost vs. pure Calcium Chloride. We recommend testing these hybrid products before broadly applying to concrete areas.

Finally, if you really want to test the limits and choose an environmentally friendly option try: Sugar Beet Juice, Vodka, Vinegar/ water.

Of course don’t forget,  sand or kitty litter don’t melt ice but provide traction and are worth considering. It’s what they do in snowier climates and it works just fine!

SIDE NOTE- A common misconception is that Rock Salt can hurt your asphalt driveway. This is NOT TRUE (*but if can hurt concrete). Asphalt is okay with Rock Salt and there is now evidence to suggest it will shorten the life. Keep the driveway sealed and there should be no problems. In fact, salt can help your driveway because one major factor in most crack and pot hole growth is ice expanding inside the crack.

Thank you for checking us out. We are EFynch.com and would love it if you sign up here for regular updates like this (we never sell your information to 3rd parties).


EFynch is a Baltimore based home improvement community which provides information and references for Maryland and Washington D.C. Homeowners, Handymen, Plumbers, Electrician, Roofer, Landscapers, Painters, etc. We are here to help you collect information and bids, not sell your contact info. We are for the little man and believe in buying local.

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NOTICE- Legal Disclaimer. The information provided above is for discussion purposes only. EFynch recommends you consult with the original installer of any material on your property prior to taking any action which was discussed or inferred in this blog post. EFynch take no liability of damage which may occur to your property as a result of actions which you have personally taken due to the information provided here. EFynch does not actually provide any physical work to be performed on your property and therefore we always insist you discuss these topics with a local and licensed pro.

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