salt and grit for ice ?

jenster

Hello this could well be in the wrong section and if it is appogies and pls move

now i know its only september but id like to sort this now so i dont get caught out
this year

BUT whats the cheapest and most efective way of clearing paths ect from snow and ice hopefully theres a moneysaving way to do this ?

any advice would be nice

anguk

There's a grit bin at the end of our road for residents so I take my daughter's old sledge up and fill it up, the council aren't very good at keeping it filled so we normally have to give them a ring.

We're also lucky that the council depot is only a mile away and they have a huge grit store, they have some big skip-type bins just outside so we normally drive down with a couple of buckets and fill them up. My OH is an amputee and snow & ice is a nightmare to walk on with a false leg so I try to keep the path to the car clear for him.

You could get in touch with your local council to see if they have anywhere residents can collect grit?

luxor4t

My grandad used the ashes from his coal fire - he'd sieve out the bigger bits to re-burn first (that generation were hardcore OS).

My neighbour has an early start every morning & she throws an old sheet/blanket over her car each night so on snowy mornings the windscreen etc are clear & she can clear the snow off by pulling off the blanket. Sounds daft but I was wondering if you could cover your path & clear it in a similar way? My path is tiled & turns into a skating rink when icy - & my neighbours think I'm crazy anyway.

xx_Jo_xx

When it gets really cold, I regularly sprinkle my path with grit or salt (even just table salt if thats all you have) BEFORE there is any ice. The salt/grit stops the ice from forming.

Once the ice is there, sitting grit or salt on the top is pretty ineffective as it needs to be 'walked' in to melt the ice from underneath.

Once there is ice, you need to clear it. I stick the kettle on and chuck the hot water over the path and scrape it all away before it starts to freeze again. Once the path is clear I put a load of salt down. This stops it freezing over again.

I never have a problem in the winter and it only costs me a couple of bags of salt.......that said, Im going to look into where my nearest grit bin is!! Thanks

Butterfly_Brain

I buy ice clear from poundland and usually have a good supply in for when it does get icy or if I can't get any I use dishwasher salt

nanokitten

I seem to remember when I was bad last year and the grit ran out everyone bough tesco value cat litter (£1.18 10L) and cheap table salt and mixed them together.
Personally if you don't have a grit bin near by I'd get on to the council now so they have time to sort somethiong out. (by me the councl has been getting rid of them)

ic

I thought grit bins were provided close to problem hills and junctions that aren't on main gritting routes, not for personal use?

I bought a bag of grit from B&Q, it was only a £ or two. Cheaper than throwing table salt around!

ormus

we bought a job lot of salt yrs ago now. still got a few large bags left.
i agree with using it the night before, bad ice is expected.

27col

What's snow and ice? Don't get much of either here near the Solent.

Debt_Free_Chick

East Sussex CC Highways no longer provide grit and we have no bins locally. The Parish Council could provide grit, but local residents would need to pay (via the precept on the Council Tax) for that and the majority opted not to.

Worth checking to see if your CC Highways actually provides grit any more .... I understand that many don't, but some garden centres stock it, "in Winter".