!44: How to Find an Environmentally and Pet Safe Ice Melt Product

!±8± How to Find an Environmentally and Pet Safe Ice Melt Product

Living in the Northern part of the US or any part of Canada brings with it the inevitable change of seasons.

There's a lot of really great things about it from beautiful spring mornings, cool fall evenings when a campfire, and all the fall smells are welcome. In between you get the varying temperatures in the summer with fishing, hiking, all kinds of other outdoor activities, and in Minnesota where I currently live, mosquitoes the size of World War II aircraft. The other inevitability would be winter. Winter for many is a time of different indoor, and outdoor sports activities from basketball and hockey, to skiing, snowboarding, hunting, and Mall walking. Is that actually a sport? So much for the fun stuff.

In between the weekends when we can get out and have fun with winter sports we all have to do with the time in between, otherwise known as the work week.

That's the fun time when you have to be up in what seems to be the middle of the night. After all, you have to get the kids ready for school, get ready for work, and once it's light outside, look out to discover that there was a foot of snow over night. It's a beautiful sight if you could only stay inside, but you can't. So now it's time to get out and clear the driveway so you can get out and get to work. That's assuming the car will start since it's now below zero.

So you get the sidewalk, and the driveway cleared, and try to get the dog to go outside. Good luck. He doesn't like the cold. So you've got the kids on the bus, and are all sweated up from shoveling snow, so you try to get quick shower before leaving for work. You've managed to get all of that done. You pull the car out of the garage, and bolt out the door toward the car. All of a sudden, your feet leave the ground. They are now passing your eyes in an upward motion. And just as soon as that happens your shoulders hit the pavement, followed by your head, and finally your feet. It's not a good day.

All kinds of thoughts rush through your mind. Where's the phone number for my chiropractor? Are my parents the "snowbirds" having a good time in Arizona this morning? And finally. Why didn't I buy some ice melt when I was at the store last weekend. Yes, it's a necessary evil. And by the way, if you are wondering by now why the previous few paragraphs were so graphic, guess why? As they say "Been there, done that." Way to many times.

So now we get to the real reason for this article. Ice melt. Yah, it melts ice. Sometimes. It thaws a little, then refreezes. Not all of it. Some of the chunks are so big that you could twist your ankle from stepping on one. So you put more down on the bare spots, and repeat until spring. Within a few days however, your sidewalk is white from the salt dissolving. As a matter of fact, so is your tile inside the house, and the hardwood floor, and the carpet, because unknowingly everybody has been tracking it in. Including the dog. Dogs don't like salt on their feet. So guess what? They lick the salt off. And, within a very short time they are getting sick from the salt. Isn't winter fun?

What would you say if I told you that there was a none salt product that is safe for pets? What if the same product would stay on your sidewalk longer melting the ice, and allowing the air to dry it up?

What if the same product would not kill your lawn, or your shrubs which inevitably get covered with snow from the driveway, by way of the new snow blower that you had to buy, due to your back injury. And, what if this same product did not track salt onto your tile, hardwood, or carpet? Well guess what?

There is an all natural stone product that is found in some western states. It can very easily be ground to about the size of a BB. Due to it's size it covers much more area, and works longer than typical rock salt or salt/sand mix. It has a slightly reddish tint so you can see where you are spreading it. And best of all, it melts ice and snow. Even below zero. And now it's available for commercial, industrial, public or residential use.