How to Melt Ice Without Salt

Photo: Nancy Bauer (Shutterstock)

After any winter storm comes the time when you have to get out from under the blanket, and head outside to take care of your sidewalks and/or driveway. Clearing the snow away is one part of the job, but once the rest of the snow starts to melt when the sun comes out during the day—and then freezes again when temperatures drop at night—you can find yourself with some very slick walkways.

Whether you don’t have rock salt or ice melt on hand, or you’d prefer not to use either, there are other options out there to help melt icy pavement. Here are a few to consider.

Rubbing alcohol, dish soap, and hot water

No ice melt? No problem. This DIY solution is not only simple and effective, but it’s made using stuff you probably already have at home. Here’s what to do:

1. Fill a bucket with a half-gallon of hot water.
2. Add around six drops of dish soap and ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol.
3. Pour the mixture onto your sidewalk or driveway, and watch the snow and ice bubble up and melt.
4. Grab a shovel and scrape away any remaining chunks of ice.

Coffee grounds

We’re big proponents of repurposing coffee grounds instead of throwing them out, and this is another example. That’s because coffee grounds contain nitrogen, which helps lower the melting point of ice. They have a secondary function too: Because coffee grounds are dark in color, they absorb more sunlight than lighter-colored materials—like snow, ice, and rock salt—which may help speed up the melting process.

Fertilizer

If you happen to have some fertilizer leftover from this year’s gardening season, you can try using that to melt driveway ice. The key here is reading the label and keeping an eye out for three key ingredients: Ammonium sulfate, potassium chloride, and urea. That’s because like rock salt, these compounds lower the melting point of ice. But unlike rock salt, it won’t damage your driveway or yard.

Sand

Although sand doesn’t actually melt ice, it does provide pedestrians and vehicles with some much-needed traction on slippery pavement. Plus, the layer of sand helps reduce the chances of more water freezing on the surface, creating more ice. This is thanks, in part, to the fact that like coffee grounds, sand absorbs more sunlight (and, in turn, heat), raising temperatures on your sidewalk or driveway.

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