By David G. Hallauer

Jefferson County Extension Agent, Agriculture

Considering one of the many snow melt products on the market today to take care of the winter precipitation left on your sidewalk or driveway? The decision deserves a little research.

Snow melt products make things safer and much easier from a snow and ice removal standpoint. The downside is their potential damage to concrete surfaces and the plants and grass growing along walks and driveways.

Small amounts of de-icers will usually cause little if any injury to surfaces and the plants that border them. However, regular application during frequent winter storms combined with less than adequate precipitation to leach them away, can cause some real problems. What are your de-icer options?

Calcium chloride is our traditional ice-melting product. It can continue melting ice in temperatures down to about 25 degrees below 0 F. While it rarely harms plants unless used in excess, it can create a slippery, slimy surface on concrete and other hard surfaces.

The cheapest alternative is rock salt. While useful and effective to about 12 degrees F it tends to cause damage not only to concrete and plants but also soils and metals.

Another dangerous option is potassium chloride. Like salt, it can damage plant roots. Further, it can cause serious plant injury when washed or splashed on foliage.

Urea is a fertilizer product sometimes used to melt ice. While only about one-tenth as corrosive as salt, it still can contaminate ground and surface water with nitrates. Urea is only effective to about 21 degrees F.

One of the newest products is Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA). It does not form a brine as the salts do, but rather helps prevent snow particles from sticking to each other or the road surface. It has little effect on plant growth or concrete surfaces. Its downfall: Performance decreases below 20 degrees F.

No one wants to take a chance of injury on a slick sidewalk or driveway. No one wants landscape plants killed or a sidewalk pitted come spring time, either. Your preventative measure? Try to balance your de-icer when possible with the use of the original de-icer "chemical": Elbow grease!