This year, be ready for whatever winter throws your way. Stock up on Surya Ice Melters to keep your sidewalks, steps and driveway clear and safer for your family, friends and neighbors.

Surya Ice Melters is available in bulk packaging and can be exported in huge quantities.

How does SALT melt ice?

The actual reason that the application of salt causes ice to melt is that a solution of water and dissolved salt has a lower freezing point than pure water. When added to ice, salt first dissolves in the film of liquid water that is always present on the surface, thereby lowering its freezing point below the ice’s temperature.

Ice in contact with salty water therefore melts, creating more liquid water, which dissolves more salt, thereby causing more ice to melt, and so on. The higher the concentration of dissolved salt, the lower its overall freezing point.

There is a limit, however, to the amount of salt that can be dissolved in water. Water containing a maximum amount of dissolved salt has a freezing point of about zero degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, the application of salt will not melt the ice on a sidewalk if the temperature is below zero degrees F.

Why Does Salt Melt Ice?

Salt melts ice essentially because adding salt lowers the freezing pointof the water. How does this melt ice? Well, it doesn’t, unless there is a little water available with the ice.

The good news is you don’t need a pool of water to achieve the effect. Ice typically is coated with a thin film of liquid water, which is all it takes.

Pure water freezes at 32°F (0°C). Water with salt (or any other substance in it) will freeze at some lower temperature. Just how low this temperature will be depends on the de-icing agent.

If you put salt on ice in a situation where the temperature will never get up to the new freezing point of the salt-water solution, you won’t see any benefit. For example, tossing table salt (sodium chloride) onto ice when it’s 0°F won’t do anything more than coat the ice with a layer of salt. On the other hand, if you put the same salt on ice at 15°F, the salt will be able to prevent melting ice from re-freezing. Magnesium chloride works down to 5°F while calcium chloride works down to -20°F.

If the temperature gets down to where the salt water can freeze, energy will be released when bonds form as the liquid becomes a solid. This energy may be enough to melt a small amount of the pure ice, keeping the process going.