The 2018 Farmer’s Almanac, which published in mid-August, predicts cold temperatures and above-average precipitation from the Great Lakes to the Northeast U.S.: “Snowier-than-normal conditions are expected,” the annual periodical predicts in its famous long-range weather forecast.

Even if you doubt the veracity of this 200-year-old publication, the fall season’s arrival brings with it one certainty: it is “prep time” for snow and ice removal, meaning now is the time to investigate the array of de-icing materials to ensure the greatest possible efficacy at the lowest possible cost.

Retail and restaurant business managers must consider how to de-ice areas requiring careful attention: wheelchair ramps, wider sidewalks and decorative — sometimes delicate — stone or other custom walkways — while being mindful of de-icers’ impact on metals in light fixtures and railings as well as nearby plant life. And, understandably so, retailers and restaurants are increasingly unwilling to accept stained and damaged floors and carpeting due to de-icing material being tracked into their establishments.

As we all know, preventative action is much more cost-effective than restorative efforts. So, here are the five key performance criteria we believe retailers and restaurants need to consider when evaluating de-icing materials:

1. Speed of melt: While chloride-based granular de-icers take a minimum of 3 to 5 minutes to achieve an acceptable melt — and as much as 10 minutes — potassium formate quickly and reliably removes thin layers of ice and prevents new snow and ice from accumulating. In fact, one particular liquid de-icer has a speed of melt of about 30 to 50 seconds. With this product, the freezing point is reduced to approximately minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius).
2. Potential for tracking residue on carpeting and floors: Focus on what we call the “DMZ” zone outside your establishment; 90% of granular ice melt tracking on floors and carpets is the result of pedestrian traffic within the first 15 feet of the building entrance. When tracked into a store or restaurant, sodium chloride granular de-icers leave a white residue that can dull the finish of floors and fade the color of carpets. Calcium and magnesium chloride-based products coat floors with an oily, slippery residue that damages wax and urethane finishes, posing a safety risk to employees and visitors. A neutral pH formulation is designed to eliminate tracking, reducing near-term labor costs associated with manual cleaning, estimated at $50 per entrance per day, according to the International Sanitary Supply Association’s Clean Management Institute. In the long term, this reduces the need for full strip and re-coats, a significantly higher expense.
3. Eco-friendliness and non-corrosivity: Calcium, sodium and magnesium granular chloride products are all hydroscopic, meaning they draw moisture from the atmosphere. Such materials are harmful to pets if swallowed, and certain chloride-based products like calcium chloride can seriously burn the paws of animals. In addition, chlorides will dehydrate turf and ornamentals and cause desiccation. If leached into waterways, they reduce the available oxygen levels, leading to the death of fish and aquatic plants. And, chlorides are corrosive to metals and, to varying degrees, to concrete and will reduce the functional life of structures such as railings and doors. Look for a liquid de-icer that is 100% chloride free and is readily biodegradable. It is safer for pets, plants, metals and concrete.
4. Ease of application: Ease and speed of application combined with reduced transport and loading costs make using liquids extremely attractive from a labor perspective. Using granular products can be very labor intensive, slowing the application process and negatively impacting safety in high-traffic pedestrian areas. In many areas, such as stairs, applicators have to carry heavy bags, spreading material by hand. In larger areas and walkways, push spreaders may be utilized. But, liquid applications are far more efficient. Liquid tanks fill very quickly, and today’s liquid applicator (i.e. spray) technologies are accessible and easy-to-use, providing for very precise application rates.
5. Cost-efficiency: If a liquid de-icer doesn’t require much actual liquid to produce an adequate melt, and is fast and easy to apply, it makes for a more cost-effective product than many granular ones. Most users will achieve a lower application cost per 1,000 square foot with this liquid de-icer than with granular de-icers. And, because the liquid achieves a melt three times more quickly than granular products, it creates a longer-lasting and safer walking surface.

As a retail or restaurant business manager, you know the primary reasons to clean: appearance; health and human safety; and asset preservation. When it comes to preparing for and cleaning during a snow event, you can now accomplish all three.

There are four keys to running a successful snow removal operation according to David Ross, president of Snowscapes, a commercial snow removal company based in Hackensack, New Jersey:

• Specialize in serving a specific type of customer. Focusing on one particular sector allows your team to fine tune their operations, limiting waste and maximizing profit.
• Dedicate yourself and your team to delivering the highest quality service through education, certifications, training and detailed operational plans.
• Utilize top quality materials and machinery. The initial cost may be greater, but the loss suffered from inferior products and equipment will prove to be far greater.
• Never rest on your laurels.

Snowscapes began 30 years ago as a lawn care company. Like many such enterprises, the company added snow removal services in the winter months, but soon began to focus only on snow removal. After providing these services to 
both commercial and municipal customers, 
Ross made the decision to focus solely on 
commercial accounts.

The speed and efficacy of Entry along with low application labor costs make using Entry far more advantageous than applying a pellet or flake.

Utilizing Better Technology

In 2016, Ross learned about Secure Winter Products’ Entry, a de-icing and anti-icing fluid based upon formic technology. Entry quickly and reliably removes thin layers of ice and prevents new snow and ice from accumulating. In fact, Entry’s speed of melt is 30 to 50 seconds faster than the liquid the company was using previously. At a 50 percent concentration, the freezing point is reduced to approximately minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius).

Like other liquid de-icers and unlike most granular 
de-icers, Entry is readily biodegradable, does not 
contain chlorides that can damage ecosystems 
and eliminates the sticky, slippery residue on floors 
and carpets that is common with granular products 
and some liquids. And Entry has a virtually neutral 
pH of 7.8, lower than other liquid products which 
can cause damage to flooring and concrete surfaces. It is safer for pets, plants and metals and provides rapid and reliable results.

Saving Time and Money

Snowscapes used Entry during approximately 80 percent of the company’s 2016-2017 winter events. “The speed and efficacy of Entry, along with low application labor costs, make using Entry far more advantageous than applying a pellet or flake,” Ross notes. “We achieved greatly reduced application costs per 1,000 square feet compared to when we applied solids only.”

When we switched to a liquid de-icer, we chose one of the leading brands. We were pleased that it provided all the advertised advantages of liquid de-icers over granular products, and we felt that using a liquid enhanced our reputation.

As for the speed of melt, Ross says, “Most granular products take a minimum of five minutes to achieve an adequate melt, while some liquids take less than two minutes. Some liquids are more effective at lower temperatures than most granular de-icers, too.

“When we switched to a liquid de-icer, we chose one of the leading brands. We were pleased that it provided all the advertised advantages of liquid de-icers over granular products, and we felt that using a liquid enhanced our reputation. But, we’re always looking to improve our company’s processes. So, we kept the door open to finding another effective liquid de-icer.”

Delivering Quality Service

Now that Snowscapes focuses solely on its snow removal service, much of the summer months are spent training drivers/applicators and doing dry runs. “Because our typical customer has more complex surfaces—not simply large, square parking lots—we believe training helps us do the best job possible in the winter months,” Ross says. “High-traffic, high-liability areas are where the site’s employees and visitors might suffer a fall. It’s also where they might track de-icing materials into buildings, damaging the flooring and carpeting.”

For narrow sidewalks, Snowscapes uses sidewalk specific machinery equipped with spray tanks. For large walks, tank sprayers are attached to utility vehicles, pickup trucks or agricultural tractors, which apply the liquid de-icer from a spray nozzle extended from the side of the vehicle while driving parallel to the sidewalk.

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Each year, environmentally friendly ice melt products claim a larger percentage of the ice melt and de-ice market. A variety of products claim to be environmentally friendly, and some of them have found particular success in the consumer market where environmentally conscious homeowners with children, pets or gardens often are willing to pay a little more for a safer product.

In the commercial snow and ice removal business, the demand for environmentally friendly products also is growing – enough so that many products lay claim to the green label with some pretty creative logic — e.g., chloride-based products are safe because they are “naturally occurring elements;” salt mining is “safer for the environment” than other forms of mining; the transportation of bulk materials by barge minimizes emissions versus transportation by truck).

The fact is, however, that most chloride-based products cause some form of harm to humans, pets, plants and aquatic life. Sodium chloride products, or rock salt, cause irritation and burns to the skin and eyes and, if swallowed, to the mouth, throat, and digestive tract. The products’ deleterious effects are true for dogs, too.

Calcium chloride-based products can burn human skin when contacted. If inhaled, dust particles can cause severe irritation. If ingested, they can cause severe irritation and bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. They irritate dogs’ paws and, worse, are poisonous to canines. When spread into gardens and onto vegetation, calcium chloride products can have a defoliating effect on trees and other plants.

Magnesium chloride-based products are considered better for the environment than those made from sodium and calcium chloride, but they cannot be considered child and pet friendly ice melts. All three chloride-based products are hygroscopic. They absorb moisture from the air, and they pull moisture from hands, skin and vegetation.

Finally, if chloride-based products leach into waterways, they reduce the water’s available oxygen levels, leading to the death of aquatic life.

Beyond health and environmental concerns, chlorides also are corrosive to metals and, in varying degrees, to concrete, asphalt and stone walkways, and they will reduce the functional life of structures, such as railings and doors.

Liquid de-icers are a new alternative to chloride-based ice melt products. One such product based upon formic technology is 100 percent chloride free and is readily biodegradable. It is safer for pets, plants, metal, concrete and other surfaces. In fact, its toxicity LD-50 oral rate is 81 percent lower than calcium chloride and approximately 46 percent lower than calcium magnesium acetate, rock salt and potassium acetate.

Ice and snow removal contractors have been attracted to liquid ice melt and de-ice products in recent years largely because these products are much easier to apply. There is no need to lug a bag of granular product across walkways and up and down stairways to apply and no need to continually dip a gloved hand or a scoop into the bag. Spray applications are far more efficient and easy to use, and they provide for very precise application rates.

For many maintenance and engineering managers, consumer concerns about child and pet-based eco-friendliness are viewed as of secondary importance. After all, children and pets typically are not traversing or playing on the grounds of office buildings and office parks. But an office’s indoor environment can be negatively impacted by some ice melt and de-ice materials.

When tracked into a facility, sodium chloride de-icers leave a white residue that can dull the finish of floors and fade the color of carpets. Calcium and magnesium chloride-based products coat floors with an oily, slippery residue that damages wax and urethane finishes, posing a safety risk to employees and visitors.

By contrast, the neutral pH formulations of formic technology de-icers eliminate tracking and leave virtually no residue. This reduces near-term labor costs associated with manual cleaning and provides for a safer environment.

Outdoors, formic technology de-icers create a safer environment more quickly than chloride-based de-icers. For example, some formic technology de-icers have a speed of melt of about 30-50 seconds by reducing the freezing point to temperatures as low as minus 63 degrees. These de-icers remove thin layers of ice and prevent new snow and ice from accumulating. By contrast, chloride-based granular de-icers take a minimum of 3-5 minutes – and as much as 10 minutes — to achieve an acceptable melt.

Most users will achieve a lower application cost per 1,000 square feet with liquids than with granular de-icers because of the ease and speed of application and the reduced amount of product needed to produce an acceptable melt.

Facilities maintenance personnel are finding that the benefits of liquid de-icers based upon formic technology – environmental friendliness, no damage to carpets and floors indoors or to surfaces outdoors, safer environments indoors and out, and cost-efficiency – make it easier for them to create a clean, safe environment.

As the variety of de-icing and anti-icing materials has grown in recent years, facility managers are tasked with balancing the plusses and minuses of the solutions available. Which are most effective – and most cost effective? What are the environmental impacts of the material used? How quickly and conveniently can the material be applied?

For most facility managers, a key consideration is how the de-icing and anti0icing materials impact the carpeting and flooring in their buildings. More than just an issue of appearance, when some materials are tracked into a building, they can cause permanent damage, increase maintenance costs – and pose a health risk to the building’s occupants and visitors.

Some of the most commonly used de-icing materials can cause permanent damage, leaving behind white residue that can dull the finish of wood floors and cause them to splinter. Carpeting can develop dry rot, fading the color.

When calcium and magnesium chloride-based products are tracked into a building, they coat floors with an oily residue that damages wax and urethane finishes. It also makes hard surface floors slippery, putting employees and visitors at risk for slip and fall injuries. These materials also degrade carpets by wearing out carpet fibers and attracting dirt.

To protect against floor and carpet damage, frequent upkeep is required during snow and ice events, which costs time and money.

An alternative to granular de-icing materials is formic technology-based liquid de-icers. Their neutral pH formulations eliminate tracking, reducing near-term labor costs associated with manual cleaning, estimated at $50 per entrance per day, according to the ISSA. In the long-term, this reduces the need for full strip and re-coats, which represents a significant financial investment.

It is understandable that the de-icing and anti-icing materials that are meant for outdoor use can be damaging to carpeting and floors when tracked indoors, but the salt residue left over from many products can also cause permanent damage to pavers, asphalt, concrete, masonry, decorative stone or other custom walkways and metal light fixtures and railings.

Calcium, sodium and magnesium granular chloride products are all hydroscopic, meaning they draw moisture from the atmosphere. If they seep into groundwater supplies or wash into lakes or streams, they reduce the available oxygen levels, harming aquatic wildlife. Salt-based ice melters may also erode soil, kill plants and burn grasses.

Formic technology de-icers are 100 percent chloride free and are readily biodegradable. They are safe for water, plants, concrete, asphalt, stone and metals.

Pedestrian Safety

While potential damage inside and outside is critical, we haven’t forgotten about the people – creating a safe environment for pedestrians. An important aspect of creating a safe environment is the time required to ensure safety. Granular de-icers take three to five minutes, often more, to achieve an acceptable melt.

By contrast, liquid de-icers based on formic technology quickly and reliably remove thin layers of ice and prevent new snow and ice from accumulating. In fact, some formic technology de-icers have a speed of melt of about 30 to 50 seconds by reducing the freezing point to temperatures as low as minus 60° F.

Cost-Effectiveness

Determining the cost-effectiveness of a de-icing material requires consideration of a number of factors: speed of melt (discussed above), amount of material required to create a safe surface and the physical application process itself.

Ease and speed of application combined with reduced transport and loading costs make using liquids extremely attractive from a labor perspective. Using granular products can be very labor intensive, slowing the application process and negatively impacting safety in high-traffic pedestrian areas. For example, on stairs, applicators have to carry heavy bags, spreading material by hand, and in larger areas and walkways, push spreaders are often utilized. Liquid applications are far more efficient. Liquid tanks fill quickly, and today’s spray applicator technologies are convenient and easy to use, providing for very precise application rates.

The low quantity of liquids required to produce an adequate melt combined with speed of application make most liquid de-iciers more cost-effective. Most users will achieve a lower application cost per 1,000 sq. ft. with liquids. And, because the liquid achieves a melt three times more quickly than granular products, it creates a longer-lasting and safer walking surface.

So, when deciding what kind of de-icing material to use this winter, check three boxes: a safe surface outside, and reduced damage, both inside and out.