stock salt

[fnfredux]

I keep meaning to post this and forgetting, I discaovered it quite by accident.
Stock salt @ $2.50 for a 50 pound bag, does a GREAT job of melting ice, and since it is ONLY salt with no chemical addituves, well you can't hurt your livestock or wildlife with it.
It's cheap, non-toxic and works.
Another use...it WILL, in large quantities kill the grass poking up from under your gravel drive.
I use no chemicals on my property.
This salt discovery has been a God send to me.
Just thought I'd pass it on.

[Anon001]

Feed stores sell tons of stock salt in the winters for ice and snow. *But, you should also note that if you put it on sidewalks, it will destroy the concrete. *New concrete is even worse. *So, if you do use it, keep it away from concrete. *I managed a feed store/coop for 10 years and saw the effects of salt on the sidewalks. *I also saw a lot of mad people that would use it on brand new sidewalks only to have to replace them.
Paul

[fnfredux]

Feed stores sell tons of stock salt in the winters for ice and snow. *But, you should also note that if you put it on sidewalks, it will destroy the concrete. *New concrete is even worse. *So, if you do use it, keep it away from concrete. *I managed a feed store/coop for 10 years and saw the effects of salt on the sidewalks. *I also saw a lot of mad people that would use it on brand new sidewalks only to have to replace them.
Paul

thanks for the info Paul, when I post here I always think of this as country folks. Maybe no "sidewalks" per se but still might have concrete in other areas. How about the "Halite" stuff? What is that made of and what does it have, how does it differ from Stock salt? I do know it is bad for animals.

[Anon001]

I don't remember "halite". I do know that there are a couple different types of "ice melt". Frankly none of it works as good as salt. LOL.... When I worked there, we had lots of city folk that had moved out to the country and if they had built new houses, they usually had sidewalks and concrete driveways that went aways out from the garage. The other problem with "ice melts" is that they only melt ice and snow until the temperature drops below a certain point. At that point then you have to find something stronger such as the salt.... About the best thing for metling is besides salt is34-0-0. Ammonium nitrate. It will melt snow and ice at colder temps than most anything else.

The drawback is that a consumer cannot buy small quantities of ammonium nitrate since the Oklahoma bombing. Even the cities and counties would buy ammonium nitrate from us and we would fill several 50 gallon barrels each visit. But, we were forced to stop doing it. Our company developed a policy that we could only sell ammonium nitrate to a farmer and we could only load it into an applicator that would hold a minimum of one ton. LOL.

The only drawback to nitrogen is also the salt content.

I have no concrete to worry about. I try to save some ammonium nitrate from when I fertilize hay ground and pasture and it has to be kept dry. Then I can use it in the winter, but our winter temps sometimes get too cold for anything to melt the snow and ice. Even our county gravel roads will get ice and snow packed and the only thing the county can do is sprinkle gravel over the top of the ice to give us traction when driving.

Back to your question. If it is salt or has salt in it, it will work better than anything you can buy. But just keep anything containing salt off the concrete and away from your foundation. All ice melts will harm concrete but not as quickly or as bad as salts. Some labels will say "safer for concrete" but not "safe".

does that help?

[fnfredux]

Thanks Paul. Don't you just hate how much harder life is because of the nuts out there?
Everytime I have to struggle through tight thick palstic shrinkwrap, then the cap that is sealed on, then the seal over the actual product, I remeber, it wasn't like this til the Tylenol poisoner...no more GOOD cold meds, no more turpenhydrate that REALLY killed the cough, no more paragoric for teething kids that RALLY did work. and stopped the stomach cramping and diarreah too.
No more stuff that really WORKS thanks to druggies and nuts.
At least they can't outlaw salt. The amonium nitrate I can see how that would be a good melter, too bad it's restricted.

[Anon001]

LOL!!!! leave it to you to point out the realities of stupidy! I always enjoy your postings. Well......um.....most of the time !!! LOL But you are so right. One item also is Iodine 7%. When I was managing the feed store/coop, we stopped putting the 7% Iodine on the shelves because it is a major meth ingredient. We kept it on a shelf behind the counter and if we didn't know someone, we didn't sell it to them but we pointed them to the other "new" iodine that is crap and doesn't do the job. Also, I made a policy not to sell more than 2 quarts to anyone, whether we knew them or not. I am in a state that has major meth production. It is probably due to the availability of Anhydrous Ammonia. Anhydrous Ammonia is a big theft problem in ag areas. Our NH3 (Anhydrous Ammonia) plants were always being broke into and hoses cut so meth makers could get it to steal... they also steal if from the farmers out of their tanks. So..yes... the idiots in this country has made the government step in and take care of us all for the "public good" which is a load of cr$p. If someone wants to be stupid and hurt themselves. let them..... survival of the fittest. lol

But,....I'm off topic of your original posting.... stock salt is great for ice melt if you keep it off the concrete and away from the fondations.... lol

[bookwormom]

and if you have icy concrete and can't put salt on it, this will not melt the ice but it will keep you from slipping and sliding, sprinkle wood ashes, sawdust works nice too.

[Anon001]

I thought of something else.... if you can, sprinkle gravel on top of the ice. Here, when our gravel roads get snow packed and the maintainer can't take it down to the gravel, and if it is very very slick, they will sprinkle gravel over the top of the ice...
PaulNKS