Ice melt products compared: what to use on stone, concrete and lawn edges

The cheapest bag is usually the most expensive choice once you count surface damage and dead planting.

Sodium chloride (rock salt)

Cheap, works to about minus ten, and hard on everything: concrete surfaces, soil structure and plants along the driveway edge.

Calcium chloride

Works at much lower temperatures and at lower application rates, which reduces total chloride load. Costs more per bag and less per season if used correctly.

Magnesium chloride

Gentler on concrete and planting, moderate low-temperature performance, higher price.

Sand and grit

No melting at all — traction only. Useful on surfaces that must not be salted, and it has to be swept up in spring before it ends up in beds and drains.

What we recommend

Less product, applied earlier, on a surface that drains. Heavy application after ice has bonded does more damage and less good.

Winter service