Salt being put on snow damages concrete in the long run

We have not had snow like this in Eastern Idaho for years. The last snowstorm really did a number on us.

You can lay down salt for traction, but could it be hard on your concrete?

Even though salt is our go-to solution to clearing things made of concrete like sidewalks driveways and even stairs, it can be a problem.

“When it gets down in the small crevice of that concrete, and the water gets down into there and it freezes, it’s going to pull apart that concrete just a little, tiny bit. So, when it goes through that freeze-thaw cycle, many times it starts to spread it apart more and more and more,” Vice President of Rockwell Homes Greg Hansen said.

This is actually one of the reasons why his company warranty everything but concrete, he said.

“It starts to peel off the top layers of the concrete, we start to get some spalling that occurs,” he said.

He said there is kind of a temporary solution.

“Trying to seal your concrete so that nothing can touch it. It’s like putting a raincoat on for us when we go out in a rainstorm,” he said.

He said it is simple:

“If you have a crack, in the middle of summer, you want go get something that you can out over that crack and seal it. So, that water can’t get inside of it. f you have spalling that occurs, you want to tap out all the remaining concrete that’s loose, and you want put a product over the top of it,” he said.

That is not all; Hansen suggests sand and not just for concrete in your neighborhoods.

“So, if you use sand on top of the snow, then that makes it so that you have some traction. Eventually, that’s going to melt and you can shovel it away and just keep putting a layer of sand. It’s a little messy in the spring, when it finally melts, but if you want to try to preserve your concrete, that’s another way,” he said.

Hansen said because concrete sealers are like a thin layer of paint, you will have to reapply it as it wears off the more you drive over it.