Each winter, people apply tons of ice melting materials to sidewalks, driveways, and steps, often without regard to proper application procedures or to what the deicing substance contains.
Some deicers corrode metal, causing damage to cars and aluminum siding.
Chemicals in many deicers can damage plants and shrubs near where the deicer is used if it is applied in large quantities. To prevent damage to your home and the environment, choose a deicer carefully. Ice Melting Products Product Minimum Working Temp. Also, these chemicals should not be applied to brick or stone surfaces. The runoff carrying deicing product from one small sidewalk may not cause much harm, but the combination of deicers used on all the sidewalks, roads, and parking lots in the region helps create harmful levels of salts and nutrients that enter storm sewers and eventually empty into the Chesapeake Bay.