Liquid and granular ice-melting products contain natural rock salt. These products are effective in ridding pavement of icy patches, which could cause pedestrian slips and vehicular accidents. If you are a contractor who performs outdoor work in regions that receive winter precipitation, including a deicing service to your standard service plan can be beneficial.

Products

Decide if you would like to apply a deicer before or after precipitation has fallen. If you have ample time to prepare a job site, you may find that pretreating pavement will allow you to begin your job duties in a timely manner. You and your work crew will not need to contend with ice, which will minimize the risk of injuries. If you choose to apply an ice melt product after precipitation has fallen, you will need to plan the manner in which the products will be dispersed.

Deicer products are rated for their speed and effectiveness. Some products are designed to melt ice at a lower temperature rating than other products. Review a series of ice products first. Then, decide if you will be manually applying a treatment product or using a spreader to apply the deicing agent.

Applications

Manually applying a deicing agent will require that you spray a liquid product or pour a granulated product directly onto paved surfaces. Either type of product can be applied to bare pavement or pavement that has hardened snow and ice on it. A scoop will aid with measuring the number of dry granules that you will be applying during each deicing session.

Dry granules should be spread across icy surfaces. Before a deicing agent is used, a shovel can be used to remove snow that has accumulated. The removal of the snow on sidewalks or driveways will allow a deicing agent to immediately work on eliminating the hardened snow and ice that rests below the freshly fallen snow.

If you decide to use a mechanical deicing approach, you will need to invest in a spreader. A spreader is an attachment that can be secured to a plow. It contains a hopper. First, you will need to prepare a liquid deicing product or a granulated one. The hopper will need to be filled with either deicing agent. As you move your plow across paved surfaces, the mechanical parts of the spreader will aid with releasing the deicing agent and spreading it across the areas that are being treated.