Cat litter to grit outdoors?

savemoney

Salt is best way as it can melt the snow/ice cat litter will just sit then and when snow and ice melt you have to clean it up

BitterAndTwisted

I think Tesco used to sell a car-litter which was red-coloured and gritty but can't for the life of me remember what they called it.

I tried to buy some grit before Christmas at B&Q but the sacks were too heavy for me to lift, never mind carry home. Such a shame because it was very cheap as was the sharp sand.

cyberbob

Claire_Bear wrote: »

I've seen quite a lot of people round here use shovels effectively to get rid of thick ice, they 'chop it up' and then shovel it. But of course this is way more physical effort which some people don't want to/can't actually make. I can just see cat litter making a big sloppy mess more than anything though but I've never done it before so wouldn't know!

What i've been doing is our house has a ramp back and front for a wheelchair. If I dont do anything its like a death slide and my wifes wheelchair would slip for miles. Anyway I just scrape any major snow/ice off. Then salt it every morning so as it heats during the day most of it melts and goes away. This keeps it clear most days and once you do it everyday normally only takes 5 or 10 minutes.

Mist cat litters are designed to absorb so wouldn;t be suitable as a grit replacement

rita-rabbit

Thanks - upstairs (around my front door) I will put down more salt than litter - I pay a large service charge so the caretaker can clean the slop afterwards (more important 2 keep my bones in one piece)! Around the car/downstairs outdoors the litter chucking will continue

Claire_Bear

Although be careful you don't get sued :eek:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242059/You-sued-clear-ice-paths-outside-home-health-safety-chiefs-warn.html?ITO=1708&referrer=yahoo

Kimberley

Claire_Bear wrote: »

Although be careful you don't get sued :eek:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242059/You-sued-clear-ice-paths-outside-home-health-safety-chiefs-warn.html?ITO=1708&referrer=yahoo

We are living in a Country where people sue for compensation through silly things now so it is not surprising. Bleedin health and safety laws now are lacking in common sense.

MrsTinks

I really really wouldn't use cat litter if it's clay based... as i said - wet clay is VERY slippery! If you are wanting to keep your bones intact then this wouldn't be a very safe way to do it in my view... Salt will do the job - I doubt you'll see temperatures in this country in which salt will not work
I used to live in Norway and normal winter temperatures of -20 never saw a problem with salting our driveway... Grit is in my view better but salt should certainly do the job IF you apply enough... a light sprinkle with tablesalt will have absolutely no effect other than to melt a thin top layer making the ice wet...

Claire_Bear

Apparently salt become ineffective at melting ice at 15f, -9c. From what people have been saying while I've been at work, it's practically impossible to get salt anywhere as everyone is buying it to put on the paths, at our shop we sold out in about an hour of getting it in, which is why people are turning to other things like cat litter to grit the paths

trying-my-hardest

I have cats who live in and get through lots of cat litter. Thanks to this great idea i am having trouble getting my hands on cat litter..local shops and large Tesco sold out..just for my cats to use......as cat litter!:eek:

We managed perfectly well with a shovel..

Sequeena

I buy wood pellet based litters for my cat but my mum always gives me the value grit based litters (which I keep for emergencies). I've been using that for my driveway