It’s clear that the chemicals used to keep the winter’s ice at bay which we have grown to love over the last few decades do not benefit the environment. While keeping ice off of your driveways and sidewalks is one thing, it’s another thing to keep it off of your car without damaging your paint job.

Try these simple, non-toxic methods for both preventing ice and deicing your vehicle:

• Pour lukewarm (NOT HOT) water over your windshield before you scrape (only good if the temperature is not too much below 32 degrees F.)
• Plan ahead – if you know an ice storm is pending, place a rug or towel over your windshield to keep the ice off.
• Use 1part vinegar to 2parts water on your windshield to help repel the ice. It may help make it easier to scrape as well.

While it may not be fun or what you really wanted to hear, the most environmentally friendly and effective method of removing ice from your car actually is simply and carefully scraping it off.

To Warm or Not to Warm

Many of you may have grown up hearing that if the weather is cold, you should start your car and let it idle for a few minutes before you drive away. This used to be fairly truthful years ago, before cars evolved to have fuel injected engines.

Everyone should take the time to read what their owner’s manual says about warming up your car, especially if you drive a hybrid vehicle. Today’s cars generally do not need time to idle before driving when the weather is cold because they have computers and fuel injected systems which carefully monitor the amount of fuel needed. Small tweaks are made by the system to accommodate for the temperature.

When cars idle, they operate at their most inefficient levels, increasing the amount of emissions (pollution) they emit. The engine, because it is most inefficient when not moving, wastes more fuel than if you were driving.

So, moral of the story is that you should never leave your car idling both for your health and the car’s.

Have another natural deicing method you think works? Share it with us below in the comments!

Have you ever read the label on the bag of salt that you keep in your garage for those cold, snowy days? More than likely, there is a warning as to the harm that traditional road salt can cause to pets delicate paws and tummies. Now, have you ever wondered, “if this product can be harmful to my pets, to what else can it be harmful?” If not, you should.

Road salt, usually sodium chloride, is used to lower the temperature at which water freezes to the surface and thus making it safer for us to drive when the roads are wet and the temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It has been the accepted (though unregulated) method of deferring the creation and encouraging the melting of ice since the 1960s in the United States. Over the last ten years, however the application of sodium chloride has come under scrutiny by scientists, environmentalist and even legislators.

It is estimated that between eight and ten million tons of salt is used in the United States each year. Sodium chloride damages delicate watersheds when it runs off into water bodies, changing their chemistry and affecting aquatic life. Worse yet, it has contaminated drinking well water in New England as well as other sources of water used for consumption. Similarly, chloride changes the delicate chemical balance found in soils, disrupting the uptake of nutrients and inhibiting long term growth. Effects in soil can be seen as far away as 50 meters from the roadway and have even more serious implications for seedlings, bulbs, and early root development.

Even animals are affected by the widespread use of salt on roads in North America. Salt deprived animals have been known to seek out melted salty snow, ingesting too much, resulting in elevated salt toxicity levels. In Canada, there have been elevated numbers of vehicle collisions with elk and moose because the animals drinking the salty melt become too comfortable around the roads and lose their fear of cars. Seed-eating birds may not be able to distinguish between rock salt and small grains which they would ordinarily consume, causing them to become sick and often die of elevated salt levels.

Amidst these concerns over wildlife kills, water degradation and contaminated drinking wells from runoff, and habitat destruction due to the application of salt numerous cities have altered their preferred methods of road deicing.

So what are the environmentally alternatives to sodium chloride? Scraping and sanding was used before salt became the more persuasive deicer. While active scraping and sanding does not melt the ice or inhibit its creation, it has actually found to be safer for drivers in many ways because it forces them to be more attentive and cautious while driving.

For your general home use, start by first scraping and shoveling before you apply any kind of deicer. If you have to use a deicer, use it sparingly and check the weather. Many deicers of wholly ineffective when the temperature dips below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Realize that all deicers have some adverse effect. Sand and cinders are essentially non-toxic, but when combined in some soils with clay, they become close to cement. Altering your soil may inhibit the growth of your plants in the spring because they will be unable to reach needed nutrients. While in their usual uses they help plants grow, urea and fertilizer when used as deicers can burn plants because of their strength in large amounts.

When buying your deicer, read the back of the bag and all of the ingredients – even if it says environmentally friendly. Calcium chloride is considered less damaging than sodium chloride. Increasing the soil’s organic matter and hand watering the plants after the thaw can help leach out all of the salt trapped around the roots of your favorite outdoor plants.

As a side note, if you use a snow blower, consider moving from a gas or diesel blower to a battery or electric model. Not only are they quieter (your neighbors will thank you) but they are cut pollution significantly and use less energy.

Tomorrow we will talk about eco-friendly ways to deice your car and address whether you really need to warm it up or not.

Comment and let us know what you use to deice your property.

Image by Flickr user Paul Romans used under a Creative Commons License.

In an effort to find less toxic ways to clean and garden, I’ve discovered many new uses for salt – yes, salt! The Salt Institute reports that salt has more than 14,000 known uses – many of them not as flavoring!

Here are some green uses for salt in and around the house.

Inside uses for salt:

Greenlivingtips.com suggests using a paste of salt and white vinegar as a polish for some metals.

The site also recommends using salt to scrub grease off of cookware and soak up oil in the kitchen.

Want to make that kitchen sponge last a little longer? Greenlivingtips.com recommends you soak it in a strong saltwater solution to help kill the bacteria. Speaking of bacteria, you can cover your cutting board with salt and let it sit for a while before rinsing to get rid of the bacteria.

The Hippyshopper suggests using salt to clean up foods that spill over inside the oven. If you sprinkle salt on the mess right away (during baking) it will help prevent smoke and odor. Once the oven has cooled, the spot should just brush away.

You can also use salt to test if an egg is rotten. Put your egg in a cup of water with 2 teaspoons of salt. An egg that’s rotten will float, while fresh eggs sink.

Outside uses for salt:

A great article on howstuffworks.com details many uses for salt outside the house.

Did you know a strong, soapy saltwater spray could kill poison ivy? Just mix three pounds of salt with a gallon of soapy water and spray directly onto the plant.

Pour a mixture of 2 tablespoons salt, 5 tablespoons vinegar and a quart of hot water onto weeds to kill them.

And if ants are starting to make their way into your house, sprinkle some salt around the areas where they gain entry.

Want to keep ice off of your windshield? Spray a saltwater solution on your windshield at night. This works because the dew that forms becomes saltwater, which freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water.

Health uses for salt:

The Hippyshopper also suggests using salt to soothe a bee sting. Just wet the stung area and then cover with salt.

You can add some salt to your bath to soothe scratches, rashes and cuts.

If you have a canker sore, mouthache or toothache, dissolve a teaspoon of salt into a cup of warm water and gargle a few times a day. It takes me several mouthfuls to finish the cup. This stings a bit, but definitely helps with the pain and quickens the healing time.

Do you have any other great uses for salt?