Dear jruk-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.
There are some options other than salt (which can actually damage
tarmac - or asphalt, as we call it in the US) and expensive
underground heating coils.
TIME RELEASE DE-ICER PELLETS
These often work for up to 36 hours allow you to apply the melting
pellets during the warmer parts of the day and still be protected
early the next morning when you wake up and prepare for work. In
addition, they are usually engineered to be more environmentally
friendly than compounds made of calcium chloride, etc and actually
claim to work much faster. Here are some examples:
PROPELLANT - 49
http://www.envirosnowmelt.com/
GREEN FIRE SNOW & ICE MELT DEICER
http://www.ice-and-snow-melt.com/de-icer.htm
YUKON GOLD
http://www.kegriver.com/ice_melters.htm#2
(This organic de-icer is dyed so you can see where it has been applied
and you don?t have to apply it nearly as often as you do salt and
other substances)
TEMPORARY SURFACE COATING
It?s a seasonal pain, but alternatively you could have your driveway
temporarily covered with a few inches of sand and/or gravel. This will
still permit rain to freeze but when you drive your car across the
frozen surface car?s tires/tyres will turn the gravel or granules,
which will bite into the ice and provide you with additional traction.
When spring comes you simply shovel the temporary coating away and
wash your drive free of any unsightly debris.
GRIT FINISH
You can have your driveway coated with varying degrees of grit finish
which not only serves to protect your driveway from the annual abuse
of ice but provides a very stable traction surface to drive on during
times when it does freeze over. Here is an example of a grit finish:
CHIRIENTERPRISE.COM ? SUPERCOAT
http://www.chirienterprise.com/SuperCoat/SuperCoat.html
TARPLOIAN
It?s another pain but effective. You can drape your driveway (if it?s
not too long) in a water resistant tarp. The upshot here is you have a
relatively dry surface to drive on but the down shot is you have to
remove it and replace it each time you leave or arrive. However, if
you can just cover one narrow strip down one side of the driveway this
should be enough to aid you in maintaining control of your car.
QUICK SOLUTIONS
If you find yourself in a jam (like you?re half-way up the driveway
and suddenly discover you can?t get the traction you need) start
putting a bag of kitty litter and a paper cup in your car. If this
ever happens to you, you can scoop out a few cups and broadcast them
on the driveway surface. The chemicals and grit in kitty litter often
provides enough traction for you to get back underway.
TRACTION PADS
These can also help you if you find yourself in a bad spot. People in
extreme climates such as Alaska use them and they say the product
really works.
LION?S GRIP
http://www.lionsgrip.com/
I hope these solutions prove useful to you. Below you will find that I
have carefully defined my search strategy for you in the event that
you need to search for more information. By following the same type of
searches that I did you may be able to enhance the research I have
provided even further. I hope you find that that my research exceeds
your expectations. If you have any questions about my research please
post a clarification request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise, I
welcome your rating and your final comments and I look forward to
working with you again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your
question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
Defined above
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
Driveway, de-icer, coating, grit, traction |
