Do You Salt your Walk in Winter Here? (Raleigh: house, neighborhood) - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary - North Carolina (NC) -The Triangle Area - City-Data Forum

itscolduphere · 12-17-2009, 05:46 PM

Hi all...
Just wondering if there's ever a need for "ice melt" on the walks here. I haven't been here during winter before... I heard somewhere that the temps in winter don't usually get below freezing during the day, so does a shoveled walk (when it DOES snow) usually remain icy or does it melt pretty fast?

Just curious if we should get some "ice melt" (if they even sell it here) for the sidewalk...

Thanks

dchz1 · 12-17-2009, 05:48 PM

Purchase one bag of ice melt in 05, it's still unopened.

MikeNC29 · 12-17-2009, 05:52 PM

I have to salt my front steps when it snows.

Mike

VickiR · 12-17-2009, 06:03 PM

Unless your walk doesn't get ANY sun, even after we get some snow or some ice, the temps hit 50 degrees and the ice and snow melt...NATURALLY!

Vicki

lamishra · 12-17-2009, 06:11 PM

I do have to salt mine. My front steps and walkway get no sun. It melts a bit and then hard freezes to ice and stays that way for as long as it's cold out! We've had all of the snow melted in the whole neighborhood, but my front steps will be still be solid ice. I usually throw some out if I start seeing flakes.

itscolduphere · 12-17-2009, 06:23 PM

We face west so we should be ok if we get dumped on this weekend!

MikeNC29 · 12-17-2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeNC29

I have to salt my front steps when it snows.

Mike

I guess I should have mentioned that the main entrance to my house is on the North side, so the snow typically takes a long time to melt.

Mike

CalicoskiesNC · 12-17-2009, 07:33 PM

Please be careful with salt and your dog's paws. I personally have never bought a bag of salt. I shovel and/or sweep the walks, let nature do the rest.

Andy64 · 12-17-2009, 08:00 PM

Sand is a good alternative to provide some traction on snow/ice and will not damage anything, then when the temps warm up, it melts naturally.

just_sayin' · 12-17-2009, 08:40 PM

When Raleigh had that infamous 2 foot snowstorm in January of 2000, we went to bed around 10 without salting our front steps/pathway (which was shaded) because we had been in NC for 5 years and the most snow we'd seen was 6 inches; which at that time was all that was predicted. Long story short; that snow fell in the last week of January, and "nature" didn't clear the steps/pathway until mid March.