Safe Step Ice Melt, Which Bag for Which Job

Safe Step is the line we carry the most of, because it covers the range a building actually needs: a cheap blended bag for routine sidewalk work, a straight magnesium chloride bag for new concrete and hard cold, and a pet formula for courtyards and dog runs. This is which bag goes where.

Working temperatures below are the ratings carried on the products themselves. We do not publish coverage per bag, because the honest answer depends on the spreader, the crew and whether the walk was shovelled first. A light, even spread on a cleared surface goes several times further than a heavy spread on packed snow.

By job

• Public sidewalk, routine storm. A blended bag. It is the cost effective choice for volume, and the inhibitors in the blend are gentler on the slab and on metal than plain rock salt. Shovel first, spread light, come back rather than dumping.
• New concrete, under a year old. Magnesium chloride. Do not put rock salt or a heavy salt blend on a fresh pour. This is the case where the expensive bag is the cheap decision.
• Garage ramp. Magnesium chloride, and mind the runoff. A ramp is a sloped surface with traffic on it and it refreezes at the bottom where meltwater collects, so treat the base of the ramp as its own problem. Spread light: excess granules on a ramp become rolling grit under tires.
• Roof, setback or terrace. This is the one to be careful with. Membrane roofs, pavers and drains all react differently, and the roofing warranty usually has something to say about de-icing chemicals. Check the roof warranty before anything goes down, keep material out of the drains, and prefer a magnesium chloride product over rock salt. If the warranty is silent or unclear, call the roofer, not us.
• Pet area, dog run, courtyard. Sure Paws. It is formulated to be gentler on paws and plantings when used as directed. That is a real difference in crystal and chemistry, and it is still not something a dog should eat. Wipe the dog down at the door.
• Single door, stoop or stair. A jug. One porter, one hand, no spreader, no open 50 lb bag sitting in the vestibule absorbing moisture.

What we stock

How much a super should keep on hand

Think in storms, not in months. A season is roughly a handful of treatable events for a Manhattan block, and each event is typically two or three passes: before the snow, after the shovel, and again when the melt refreezes overnight.

• Work out what one full pass of your sidewalk, entry and service door takes in bags. Most supers already know this number by feel.
• Multiply by three for one storm, then hold enough for two storms back to back. That is the working stock.
• Keep one magnesium chloride bag and one pet formula bag separate from the general pile, so the crew is not tempted to use the wrong bag on the new pour or the dog run.
• Buy before the first freeze. Ice melt sells out city wide in the 24 hours before a storm, and the truck is not going to beat the weather.
• Store it sealed, off the floor and dry. Magnesium chloride in particular pulls moisture out of the air and cakes in an open bag.

If you tell the counter your sidewalk frontage and how many entrances you treat, we will tell you what buildings like yours go through. We would rather size it right than sell you a pallet you cannot store.

Stock up before the first freeze.

Live prices and shelf stock at 1587 First Avenue.

All ice melt we stock · What ice melt does to concrete, floors and your liability