Why ice is its own problem
Snow is easy to see. Ice often isn’t. It forms from freezing rain, from frost on cold pavement, and from yesterday’s snowmelt running across a lot and freezing overnight. A site can be icy with no snow on the ground at all, which is why ice needs its own plan and not one line in the snow contract.
Anti-icing and de-icing
- Anti-icing happens before the weather. A treatment, often salt brine, goes down ahead of a storm so ice can’t bond to the pavement.
- De-icing happens after. Material is spread on ice that has already formed, to melt it and break its grip.
Treating ahead generally takes less material and leaves a safer surface. It depends on a provider who watches the forecast and moves early.
What goes on the ground
- Rock salt. The standard for parking lots. It costs the least, and it loses strength as temperatures drop into the teens.
- Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride. They keep working in much colder weather and act faster. They cost more.
- Brine. Salt dissolved in water, sprayed before a storm.
- Sand or grit. Adds traction. It doesn’t melt anything, and it has to be swept up afterward.
Sidewalks and entrances usually get a different product than the lot. Tell your provider about any concrete poured in the last year, because de-icers can damage new concrete.
What should trigger service
- Freezing rain or sleet in the forecast
- Pavement at or below freezing while it’s wet
- Refreeze after a thaw, most often overnight and in the early morning
- Meltwater from snow piles running across walks and drive lanes
Pavement temperature matters more than air temperature. A shaded lot can ice over while the thermometer reads above freezing.
The day after the storm
Service doesn’t end when the snow stops. Piles melt in the afternoon sun, and the water freezes again at night. Ask who comes back to check for refreeze, and whether that visit is in the price.
How ice service is priced
- Per application. A set price each time a site is treated.
- By material. You pay for the salt or ice melt used, by the ton or the bag.
- In a seasonal price. One number for the winter, with ice treatments built in.
Whichever it is, put it in writing alongside the snow terms. De-icing is where winter invoices grow. Our guide to snow and ice contracts covers the contract types.
More isn’t better
Extra salt doesn’t melt ice faster. It burns the turf and plantings along the lot, wears on concrete and costs money. Ask how the provider sets how much goes down.
Where winter is mild
In places that rarely see snow, ice is the main winter risk, and it’s the one sites are least ready for. Fewer crews own the equipment, and fewer sites have a plan. Line up a provider and a plan for each site before the first freezing forecast.
Five questions to ask a provider
1. Do you treat before a storm, or only after?
Ask which forecast they act on, and how far ahead.
2. What do you apply, and where?
Lots, sidewalks and entrances may each need something different.
3. Who checks for refreeze?
And is that visit included?
4. What record do I get?
Time, location, what was applied and where, with photos.
5. How is de-icing billed?
Per application, by material or in the seasonal price. Get the rate in writing.
Ahead of the storm.
Thistle manages snow and ice for businesses with many sites, through owner-operators who work directly with us.
- We watch the forecast, so crews are moving before conditions turn.
- Ice management and de-icing, alongside plowing and sidewalk and entrance clearing.
- A GPS-verified check-in and photos on every job, in ThistleOS.
- One point of contact through the storm.