In any business it’s important to maximize effectiveness. In snow and ice management that’s minimizing slip and falls and making your accounts as clean and presentable as possible. Maximize efficiency and save time and money by using all your tools in the toolbox.
Save Time & Money Down the Road
Use of anti-icing and de-icing products should really be a consideration when your in this business. Let’s discuss liquids. Using less material while killing more ice and snow, that’s a win. The purchase price might be higher than rock salt, but if you use the liquid right you will save money in the long run.
It’s Just Like Cooking
Pre-treating is like spraying Pam on a pan. It prevents frozen precipitation from bonding to the surface. Which according to the Minnesota DOT saved 4 times the amount of de-icing product. Of course, makes for much quicker scraping too.
Heavy reliance on granulars resulted in chloride contamination in many water resources because of runoff. Better application and sustainable chemicals would be more environmentally friendly.
There are three groups of people:
-Those that never use liquids
-Those that swear by them
-Those that have tried, but given up quickly
It takes some time to figure out the best speed, application rate, solution concentration to achieve a certain level of service for your customer. Trial and error is needed to find the winning combo.
Often times, many contractors are using 4-6 times over the amount of material that is needed. This explains why so many are quick to call it quits; they spent all their money!
Weather conditions are very critical in determining how you apply your product of choice. Pavement temperatures are more important than air temperature. Are temperatures trending colder or warmer; maybe above freezing? Humidity and the moisture type of the snow matters. If an event starts as rain or a mix then granulars might make more sense because liquids would get further diluted.
There’s a periodic table worth of options. Types of magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium solutions are available, plus other organic additives.
Do your research on the specs for different products. Look for the best result at the lowest temperatures. One degree of temperature difference can have a several hundred dollar impact. Having accurate weather information can greatly help out as well.