Going along with our organic land care philosophy, we recommend use of an ice melt that does not contain Sodium chloride. This material can cause mortar used in walkways to degrade over time and provides toxic levels of salt to the plants in adjacent garden beds. Furthermore, those of us with dogs and cats need to be careful of product ingredients because our pets lick their paws daily after walking outdoors and ingest harmful materials.One good product on the market that I use regularly to combat black ice is called Safe Paw. It comes in a large 5 gallon bucket or in smaller shaker-style jugs. It will melt ice even when temperatures drop a bit below freezing. I keep one container in my car in case I need to cut a path to my door over ice that formed during my absence. It really works and is safe for Mister Stripey’s paws on our walks.
