As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops, the snow isn’t far behind. It’s time to prepare for winter’s ice and snow with ice melting products. There’s no worse feeling than waiting until the last minute to purchase an ice melt solution, only to find the big box out when you need it most.
It’s time to stock up for the winter. Today, there are so many products on the market that it’s hard to know which to choose. Liquid products, pellets or flakes, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, or sodium chloride, how do you choose the best solution?
Let’s examine three products that are best in class for residential and commercial applications. They include calcium chloride flakes and pellets and a naturally harvested magnesium chloride solution with a low environmental impact.
Calcium Chloride
Calcium chloride is highly effective at melting snow and ice at temperatures down to -25F. Due to pellet form calcium chloride, ice dams and hard pack snow in extremely cold environments melt.
Many calcium chloride products are made up of several different elements in a blend of active ingredients. As a result performance can vary greatly.
Peladow consists of 90% calcium chloride which is scientifically proven to melt ice faster across a wide range of temperatures. It’s scientifically formulated to melt 3X more ice than urea based products and 7x more than potassium chloride. Scientifically engineered, Peladow can attract moisture from its surroundings creating a heat-generating reaction. Its shape keeps it active longer and helps it perform better.
Calcium chloride deicers are also available in flake form. The advantage of a flake deicer is that it provides a large flat surface area that helps it to stay where you put it, even on surfaces that are subject to winds that might “roll-off” a pellet deicer.
DowFlake Xtra is a calcium chloride flake. Like pellets it’s highly effective at temperatures down to -25F. DowFlake Xtra consists of 83 – 87% pure calcium chloride. Its flat shape keeps it in place to maximize ice melting capabilities. By creating an exothermic reaction, it creates a brine solution faster than other materials allowing it to begin working on contact.
Magnesium Chloride
As we all focus on protecting the environment, magnesium chloride deicers have become popular thanks to their performance and reduced impact on the environment. Magnesium chloride greatly reduces adverse effects on children and pets compared to the chemicals typically used to remove ice and snow in winter.
MAG® ice melt is naturally harvested magnesium chloride sourced from the Dead Sea that is effective at temperatures as low as -13F. MAG out performs many other deicers like potassium or based solutions and sodium products. Safer for use on concrete walks and driveways, it has a very low toxicity (3x less then common table salt and 8x less than calcium chloride) making it safer for pets and people, won’t damage plants or shrubs and is safer for the environment producing 1/3 fewer chlorides, which means less surface water contamination.
If you’re looking for an environmentally safer product MAG is the perfect choice for you! It’s available in both pellet and flake form.
Ultimately, as we head into the snowy months of winter, don’t get caught unprepared. Stock up on the best deicers available. Consider Peladow, DowFlake Xtra, or MAG® deicers today! It’s also important to note that all this products can be effectively used for dust control. If you’d like to learn more just give one of our team members a call and we can help you pick the one that’s right for you!
