Stop using ice melt on your driveway if you have concrete older than 10 years

Watched my neighbor ruin his 15 year old driveway last winter with that cheap blue ice melt from Home Depot. I told him we use sand or just shovel it here in Bay Village but he didn't listen. Now he's got spalling chips everywhere and a $3000 quote to resurface. How many of you have seen this happen on your street?

2 comments

2 Comments

rodriguez.cora10d ago

Have you ever noticed how people just trust whatever product is on sale without thinking about what it actually does to their stuff? It's like with those laundry pods that promise extra whitening but they just wreck your clothes over time. I've seen it with my own driveway too, we had concrete put in back in 2008 and I use plain old sand or a shovel when it gets icy. That cheap ice melt is basically salt and chemicals that eat away at the surface, especially when the concrete is already older and more porous. My dad used to say if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, and that goes for a lot of things we buy these days. People just grab the cheapest option without stopping to think about the long term cost.

blakem829d ago

Right, @rodriguez.cora, you're talking about that short term fix vs. long term damage thing. But here's what I always wonder... why does it take people actually wrecking something expensive before they finally learn? Like you with the concrete, that's a real world lesson that sticks. Did you try to warn anyone in your neighborhood before they made the same mistake with their own driveways? Because that's the part I can't figure out - nobody listens until they ruin their own stuff, and then they're all surprised. I've seen guys spend thousands on a new patio and then just pour the cheapest bag of salt on it without a second thought. It's like people forget that concrete is basically a sponge when it's cold, and that saltwater just goes straight into the cracks.