Protect Your Concrete: Why Avoiding Salt Is Crucial for Longevity

When the driveway ices over, salt can look like the quick fix. It can also weaken your concrete, and the damage builds up quietly over every winter you use it. Here's why it's worth steering clear of salt on your concrete, and what to use instead.

Why Salt Is Hard on Concrete

Salt, especially ordinary sodium chloride, is the go-to deicer for a lot of homeowners and businesses, and it's corrosive to concrete. When salt mixes with moisture on the surface, it makes a salty solution that soaks into the pores of the concrete. That sets off a cycle of damage that leads to erosion, cracks, spalling and general deterioration.

What the Damage Leads To

Salt damage goes deeper than the looks of your concrete and can weaken it structurally. Cracks and spalling make your property look worse, and they also let more water into the slab. Over time that water makes the damage worse, and you can end up needing a costly concrete repair or even a full replacement.

In Northern Colorado, where winter often calls for some kind of deicer, it pays to know what salt can do to your sidewalks, driveway and patio before you spread it.

Safer Alternatives to Salt

There are several safer ways to deal with ice and snow that won't put your concrete at risk:

• Calcium chloride. It melts ice better than sodium chloride and is less risky for concrete surfaces.
• Sand. Sand gives you traction on ice without any chemicals, it won't harm your concrete, and you can sweep it away once the ice melts.
• Shoveling right away. Shovel promptly after each snowfall. If the snow never builds up, ice has less chance to form, and you'll need much less deicer, if any.

Protecting Your Concrete Through Winter

Keeping salt off your concrete and using these alternatives helps it keep its strength and good looks for years. If you have questions about protecting your driveway, sidewalks or patio from winter damage, or you're already seeing scaling and cracks, reach out to Hugo's Concrete.