Salt Questions · Home, wellness & DIY
Can you use ice cream salt to melt ice on a sidewalk?
Short answer
Yes. Ice cream salt is coarse rock salt, the same sodium chloride used on roads. It melts ice down to about −9 °C (15 °F) and works more slowly below that. Use it sparingly: spread crystals thinly with gaps between them, because too much damages concrete, plants, pets' paws and waterways.
How salt performs on ice
- 1Lowest possible ≈ −21 °C (−6 °F)
- 2Salt works well to ≈ −9 °C (15 °F)
- 3Water freezes 0 °C
Why it works
Salt dissolves into the thin film of water on ice and lowers its freezing point, so the ice melts into brine. Coarse crystals bore through ice well.
How to use it well
- Shovel first; salt is for the thin layer left behind.
- Spread crystals thinly, with gaps between them.
- Below about −9 °C (15 °F), salt works slowly; sand gives traction instead.
- Sweep up leftover salt once the ice is gone.
Watch out for
New concrete (less than a year old), plants near the path, pets (wipe their paws), and metal railings and cars. Our parking lot salt calculator gives application rates for larger areas.
Related on The Salt Almanac
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Cite this page
For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.
The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Can you use ice cream salt to melt ice on a sidewalk. https://saltalmanac.com/answers/can-you-use-ice-cream-salt-to-melt-ice-on-a-sidewalk
“Can you use ice cream salt to melt ice on a sidewalk.” The Salt Almanac, 8 Nov. 2026, saltalmanac.com/answers/can-you-use-ice-cream-salt-to-melt-ice-on-a-sidewalk. Accessed [today's date].
“Can you use ice cream salt to melt ice on a sidewalk.” The Salt Almanac. Last modified November 8, 2026. https://saltalmanac.com/answers/can-you-use-ice-cream-salt-to-melt-ice-on-a-sidewalk.
Original sources
- Wikipedia. Freezing-point depression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezing-point_depression
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension. Reducing deicing salt damage this winter, 2025. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/2025/11/17/reducing-deicing-salt-damage-this-winter/