Ice Melt Product Hard To Keep In Stock As De-Icer Flies Off The Shelves

Spring will soon arrive, and with it warmer temperatures will cause any ice and snow built up on sidewalks to naturally melt away. Until then, however, consumers have been clearing their driveways, sidewalks, and entranceways by using a product called Ice Melt — one that’s reportedly so popular, retailers can hardly keep it in stock, reports the Washington Post. It’s not simply individual customers seeking out the uber-popular Ice Melt product, but all sorts of folks who want their businesses and home walkways clear. Many have lined up at stores like Strosniders Hardware Stores in Bethesda for the Ice Melt product, which tends to sell out fast.

Prior to a predicted huge snowstorm hitting the Maryland area on Wednesday night, customers were willing to wait 45 minutes or more to take some Ice Melt home, a product that claims it won’t harm carpets, grass, or plants. When one searches for Ice Melt in Google Shopping, up pops various ice melting products, with a 50-pound bag of actual Ice Melt from Uline going for $20 per bag.

WJLA reported that it took a mere 25 minutes for jars of Ice Melt to sell out in Arlington, Virginia, at Cherrydale Hardware on Wednesday — just after a truck arrived with the hot product.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, it’s important to understand what type of de-icer you’re using to rid yourself of icy driveways and sidewalks. Even though rock salt is pretty cheap at less than $9 per bag, the sodium chloride product isn’t a great option in the long run. That’s because it can freeze again when the mercury drops to near zero. It’s also detrimental to driveways because it can seep into cracks and make them worse.

A search for the product on Amazon didn’t readily turn up any available jugs of the stuff. However, other brands of ice melting mechanisms did appear, such as calcium chloride crystals and other products claiming to be safe for pets’ paws and the like.

As reported by the Inquisitr, de-icers can affect sensitive paws on pets, therefore placing petroleum jelly like Vaseline on paw pads prior to taking them for a walk on sidewalks that have been treated with de-icing chemicals can help. An additional option is to put snow boots on dogs, which made for hilarious cuteness the first time the pooches tried on such footwear.

[Image via Cleveland Plain Dealer]