Liquid deicing is probably the hottest topic among snow and ice control contractors right now. This is likely because the use of liquids to deice had previously been so ambiguous and mysterious. Luckily, lots of contractors and vendors have been working diligently for many years to prove that liquids are a viable alternative to granular deicers.

We jumped on the liquids train several years ago and did some of our own tinkering to figure out how to make it work for us. Our company has placed a huge focus on implementing liquids as deicers over the past several years. This was largely because we were searching for an environmentally conscious method but also found it to be immensely profitable along the way.

While I would love to tell you that we are a full bore, liquids-only company, I’m obligated to tell you the truth: granular deicers still have a place in our planning. But the point of the story is that you can use liquids to expand your capabilities and outperform your own expectations as well as your competitors.

Liquids benefits

Liquid anti-icing, which creates a layer of salt that prevents snow from bonding to the surface, has become a fairly common practice in snow and ice management. Bond prevention is extremely helpful for efficient cleanup efforts, whether plowing or deicing:

Snow clearing. Plows will scrape the surface much cleaner and will alleviate the hardpack that happens in busy lots. We have seen a huge improvement in all our plowing operations but we have seen especially huge improvements on sites where we use blades that contour to the surface to some degree versus traditional straight blades/boxes.

Materials savings. Deicing a site that has been anti-iced with liquids uses considerably less deicing material than a site that just gets traditional clearing with no pretreatment. Obviously, the lots that have the benefit of anti-icing coupled with the contour blades have seen an even bigger savings in deicing materials.

It’s key to match technique with equipment capabilities to see how you can gain a competitive advantage.

Deicing strategy

When it comes to deicing, liquids can positively impact your business and should become a standard tool in your arsenal. Deicing is an immensely critical part of site safety and client expectations, which is probably why so many contractors are considering changing their "tried and true" methods.

We rely heavily on liquids for deicing and have started making brine to keep up with our growing needs. Liquids don’t have to be used to the same extent as we use them. Let them help you in a way that makes sense for you.

Prewetting. Prewetting granular deicers may be the simplest way to implement liquids into your toolbox. You can generally use existing equipment with some upfitting to allow for a nozzle to spray liquids to hit salt at the spreader spinner. This coats the granular deicer before it is applied to the surface, immediately initiating the melting process.

"Dry" salt needs moisture to initiate its melting process, so in low-moisture content snow conditions, salt won’t necessarily melt very quickly. Liquid kicks the melting into high gear and helps it start burning off snow right away. Prewetting also decreases the bounce and scatter of traditional salt.

Direct liquid application. We can melt off hardpack at much lower temperatures with liquids than we can with granular deicers. The other advantage is that direct applications eliminate bounce and scatter, which causes collateral damage to landscaping along curb lines and sidewalk edges. This alone has saved us thousands of dollars in postseason landscape repairs.

Anti-icing strategy

Anti-icing allows you some leeway in planning your operations:

1. Liquids can be applied 24-72 hours before the storm, which allows you time to rest your staff before going out for the actual storm.
2. The liquid is put down at a much lower rate than deicing treatments. We generally recommend 40-45 gallons per acre in an anti-icing situation. The liquid is essentially spread by vehicle and pedestrian traffic and doesn’t create a terrible visual on your site like a granular pretreat does.

While this sounds like a no-brainer, there are some things to consider when anti-icing with liquids:

1. If you are expecting rain before the storm, the liquid will be washed away.
2. If you already have snow from previous storms and drifting is a concern, be cautious about applying an anti-icing treatment if high winds are expected before a storm because the liquid could essentially "catch" the snow and allow that snow to stick to the pavement, whereas dry pavement might allow the snow to simply blow across the top.
   

All in all, we find that the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

Additives kick it up a notch

"Liquids" is a fairly ambiguous term since there are countless combinations and mixtures that can be used. For the sake of simplicity, we use sodium chloride brine with a liquid magnesium chloride additive. This has worked well for us, so we’ve stuck with it; but this is not to say that it will work for everyone.

Regular NaCl brine has the same chemical makeup as NaCl rock salt. The only difference is the application method (equipment/storage) and melting reaction time. Liquids melt faster because you’re cutting out the wait time of the salt grains needing to interact with moisture before melting starts. So, liquids have the advantage in that sense.

When we add another component (magnesium chloride, in our case), this creates a liquid product similar to using a treated rock salt. We can now use liquids at a much lower temperature, just as you would with treated rock salt. However, we have seen that even if two products have the same advertised effective melting capacity, the liquids work much better. This is because the liquids start melting immediately and don’t rely on moisture in the atmosphere or snow to initiate the melting process.

Relying on granular

While we love primarily using liquids, there are still times when we feel more comfortable using granular deicers. When we expect rain, freezing rain or extremely icy conditions, we treat our lots with granular salt. This is mainly because the liquid deicer becomes watered down in rain and loses some of its effectiveness. This is an area where we’re still trying to figure out how to best use liquids to overcome our fear that they won’t work.

We have been told by several of our peers in colder climates that we can use liquids even in those freezing rain and ice events. So, we will continue to trial it and eventually I’m sure we will get to that point.

Easier tracking

Another advantage to using liquids is the efficiency and accurate tracking that they allow. Liquid systems generally have a tracking device to tell you exactly how much you applied, or you can measure based on physical markings on the tank to track amounts. We are able to know how much we need per job and our crews know to apply at that rate versus what they think they need to do.

We have saved a ton of money with more accurate applications, which has eliminated overapplication of deicers.

We see frequently in our market where contractors just throw more granular deicer out with the false expectation that the snow will melt faster with more salt. Liquids truly do prove that less is more.

Ease into the process

Don’t feel like you have to go from 0 to 100 in one season. It took us over five years of playing with different equipment and types of liquids to get where we are today. Add a little bit as you go and start small.

Test your melting capacities by buying totes or 55-gallon drums of different liquids to see how they work in different situations. You can start with something as simple as a 4-gallon backpack sprayer on sidewalks to get your journey rolling. As you feel more comfortable and understand your needs, start implementing more to complement your granular plan. Pretty soon, I’m sure you’ll be sold on liquids. And don’t forget to ask questions. Rely on your trusted vendors, equipment suppliers and SIMA peers to help you on your journey.

Josh Howver, ASM, is production director at Cornerstone Partners Horticultural Services. Email him at joshh@cphort.com.