Anti-Icing

Anti-Icing 

Anti-icing is a winter maintenance technique that prevents snow and ice from sticking or bonding with pavement, similar to how a nonstick pan prevents eggs from sticking. It works by applying a liquid brine before a forecasted storm to prevent the buildup of ice. While anti-icing is used to prevent the formation of ice, de-icing is used to melt ice that has already formed. De-icing is the more common technique of applying salt, or other de-icer, during or after a storm to melt the ice. 

Benefits of Anti-Icing 

Pre-treating a surface with a liquid brine also helps rock salt adhere to the surface increasing its effectiveness while preventing excess salt from bouncing/blowing off the surface and migrating to unwanted areas. Liquid brine also works better than rock salt at preventing and breaking the bonds between the ice and the pavement. 

Anti-icing is less costly because it uses ¼ the material as de-icing, is a quicker process and less material is wasted. 

While both anti-icers and de-icers often contain sodium and chloride which can contribute to increasing their levels in local water bodies, anti-icing still manages to reduce the overall environmental impact.