What are the different types of ice melt?

Although there are many different brands of commercially available ice melt for use in melting ice and snow, there are really only two main types. The first type contains a certain form of salt; These can be identified on the label as chloride. Another main type of ice melt contains urea, which is often used in fertilizer and can be used to melt snow and ice more safely at higher concentrations. These products tend to function in a similar way to natural salts that reduce the freezing point of water, causing that the already frozen water in ice or snow begins to melt. The rock salt itself is quite expensive and can be quite rough on various surfaces and vegetation, so many alternative types of ice products are increasingly available for use.

One of the most common types of melted ice products is those that include some form of salt, and these are usually identified by the word "chloride" on the packaging. Conventional salt varieties include potassium chloride that only works during heart ratelots above 25 ° F (just above -4 ° C); Sodium chloride, which operates at temperatures up to 10 ° F (just below -12 ° C); Magnesium chloride, which works at -22 ° F (-30 ° C); and calcium chloride that can melt the ice at -25 ° F (about -31 ° C). However, these salts can be very harmful to vegetation and at temperatures below -25 ° F (-31 ° C) will no longer prevent water from freezing. Ice melting signs that use these chemicals are relatively affordable and these salts are often mixed unique for each brand.

The second common type of ice melt is a product that includes a chemical known as urea, a chemical complex found in mammaline urine. However, urea used in ice melt is usually synthetic, and although urea is commonly used in fertilizer, it usually occurs at higher concentrations in products intended to melt ice. Products that use urea can usually melt ice at temperatures at or above 20 ° F (about -6 ° C), but may also be myRough on concrete and similar surfaces. However, these products are often more expensive than those that use salts and can still cause damage to vegetation and surfaces such as wooden flooring or carpets.