City-dwellers know all too well the effects of salt. Although it does wonders for melting ice and snow, it wreaks utter havoc on boots, dog’s paws and car paint! The damage going on behind the scenes is even more disturbing, whether in the city or the country. Read about the environmental effects of using salt to melt ice, and discover the best natural alternative.

Sodium chloride (cheap rock salt), calcium chloride (works well at low temperatures, -20F), magnesium chloride, and potassium chloride. All of these chloride salts pull heavy metals out of the soil which makes them dangerous for us since they then get into the groundwater and can damage gardens and waterways. All of the salts are corrosive to metal, and their use damages asphalt and concrete.

A substitute that is safer for kids and pets, urea (carbonyl diamide), releases nitrates like synthetic fertilizers do, causing algae bloom in our waterways.

The most natural (in the sense of something being used in a way that can be found in nature) ice melter is alfalfa meal. This is a totally natural fertilizer that contains nitrogen to promote ice melting and has a texture to provide traction while it works. While this also can cause algae bloom in our waterways, it will be less pervasive a problem than with using urea.

The safest products that LocalMotion found contain Calcium Magnesium Acetate (CMA) or urea blended with a glycol mixture that acts as a nitrogen inhibitor to keep it out of the water supply. It is availalble from Landscaper’s Choice (www.kissner.com) and PetSafe (www.gardeners.com)