Eco-friendly Jack Frost: Benefits of Using Salt Brine To Manage Ice
Brine is a fantastic way to protect you from dangerous, snowy, slippery walkways and driveways, and brining is something we can do for you before the bad weather hits. You can be prepared and know your family, friends, tenants, employees, or customers are protected.
What is Brine?
Brine is the mixture of water and salt sprayed on roads, sidewalks, and parking lots. It’s often sprayed before a snow or ice storm to prevent ice and snow from sticking. You’ll often see it sprayed from trucks with mounted tanks; crews can also sometimes use handheld hoses.
When Should You Brine?
Always keep an eye on the weather forecast, specifically the conditions for which bringing works best. If you’re unsure when to plan your appointment with us, give us a call, and we’ll be happy to assist you!
Some of these weather conditions can be:
- Does it look like rain is due before the snow or ice? Brining is not a great idea as the rain could wash it away. While salt lowers the freezing point of water, if the temperature is expected to be below 20 degrees, the brine will freeze.
- The same applies to situations where the air temperature is fine, but the pavement or sidewalks are too cold.
Unexpected or fast-moving snow storms do not leave enough time to brine, but if there’s 24 hours notice and a temperature between 20 to 30 degrees, it’s brine time!
The Benefits of Using Brine
Traditional salt doesn’t work until the snow or ice starts to melt, and it can mix with the water. If it is too cold for any melt, the salt will just sit on top of the snow or ice.
Brine is already mixed and in solution form, meaning it works as soon as it is sprayed. When that first inch or two of snow falls, the brine will keep it from sticking around, keeping everyone safer.
Brine is easy to apply, and it doesn’t stick to boots or shoes, which means it doesn’t get tracked into the building like rock salt. By comparison, salt is loose and blows around; brine stays where we put it and can last three or four days.
Environmentally Kind
Most likely, you’ve heard about the environmental impacts of salt and how it makes its way into lakes and streams, jeopardizing our wildlife. Additionally, salt can burn your landscaping.
Because it uses a quarter of the salt as traditional rock salt, brine is gentler for your plants and the environment. Brine treated larger areas with much less salt per square foot.
Brine Is the Best Option
Due to being long-lasting, environmentally kind, and not a dry salt that disburses everywhere, brine is superior for preventing those slippery sidewalks and driveways. It’s prevention instead of reacting when things are already slippery.
Brine before the storm, and you’ll see the benefits for days!
At Stefano’s Landscaping, we create amazing landscapes in summer and protect our customers’ homes and buildings in winter with our professional snow and ice management. Contact us before the snow to prevent dangerous slips and falls.