Everything You Need To Know About Salt For De-icing
Why Use Salt?
Our salt spread is made up of pure marine salt from the Mediterranean. It is white, meaning it has almost no impurities and the benefits of this are three-fold:
The chloride content in sodium chloride is what acts as a high-quality de-icer, white salt has a higher chloride content;
White salt means there is less sand and grit mixed in with the sodium chloride. Less sand and dirt leads to a better quality de-icing;
Its purity of 99% sodium chloride (traditional mined brown salts can be as low as 90%) has an aesthetic appeal in that no dirty residue remains after use. This non-residue factor removes the added expense of clean-up costs of insoluble material, as well as costs of replacing discoloured flooring and carpets.
Why Spread The Right Amount of Salt?
Salt should be spread as evenly as possible to ensure safety and reduction of waste. In addition to using the right amount, salting before freezing occurs will make salting more effective. Ice generally forms in the evening as the sun drops, and again in the morning as it rises. In order to ensure maximum effectiveness and protect against slips and falls it is important to spread salt before ice forms. Pre-salting ensures that you use less salt as you are preventing freezing from occurring, rather than attempting to melt ice.
Ideal Pre-Salting Application Rate?
The ideal application rate for pre-salting is one-half cup per metre squared. To melt existing ice, the full salt application needs to be one cup per metre squared so, you’re saving half a cup per square metre, just by salting early.
Why Use The Correct Tools?
Salt can be applied using a variety of techniques and equipment, depending on the job:
Drop spreaders are suitable for home use where restricted spreading is required such as pathways and smaller areas etc;
Spinner spreaders offer a simple solution for spreading salt over larger areas where producing an even spread takes very little effort.
Spreaders can be made of plastic or steel. The fact that salt is highly corrosive has very little impact on the longevity of your spreader. Poor maintenance and misuse account for 50% of problems, with poor salt making up the remaining 50%. The key to successfully maintaining a healthy spreader is to never leave salt in your spreader between uses. Snow and ice come in lots of different forms and no one tool can handle them all.
The key is to stay on top of the elements this winter and select the right product and equipment for the job.
And of course, use Peacock Salt!
How to Purchase Salt?
E: [email protected] | T: 01292 292 000 | W: peacocksalt.com
Peacock Salt is the largest distributor of salt based products and winter equipment in the UK. Since celebrating their 144th anniversary in May 2018, Peacock Salt have steadily grown its business and is now the UK’s leading importer of white marine de-icing salt.