Salt!!!

[Ross-Paving]

These past winters I've seen a considerable increase in damage to cement based materials.
Some people are saying it's the hard frost, others implying poor quality materials - but I believe it is entirely attributed to people spreading salt over the surfaces.

Are there any de-icing alternatives to salt, alternatives that can be applied to cement based materials without consequence?

[lutonlagerlout]

heat?
underfloor heating to the patio?
i say this partly in jest because they actually have underpavement heating in iceland
as a side issue i have seen a lot of mortar fail in the last 2 years that was no where near salt
LLL

[Tony McC]

Somebody sent me a sample of a 'salt alternative' just before xmas. The sample was less than generous, and so I was limited as to what I could do with it, so I played safe and sprayed it over the clay paviors on my patio.

It melted the ice and seemed to prevent the formation of any new stuff for a few days, but I couldn't for the life of me see what advantage it had over salt. This wasn't helped by a complete lack of documentation or contact details, other than a Post-It with the scribbled legend "Tony, see what you think of this alternative to salt for de-icing pavements...."

It was called 'Sure Foot' and now you know as much as me!

[lutonlagerlout]

a quick web search and i found this jollop
distinct lack of detail
LLL

[mike builder/landscaper]

we have a lot of salt damage round here. the paving flags outside the village shops where the council were putting salt have blown badly. where i am working at the minute they have a concrete drive and the concrete has blown from the front door to the pavement. exactly where they were gritting.