First-World Problems...

Why yes...that used to be calcium chloride pellets. But over the summer (we had a relatively mild winter last year) it absorbed enough moisture that it turned into what looked like a solid mass...impenetrable to my ice scraper.

So what to do? Oh...I know! Add enough hot water so it goes into solution and then spray it on the driveway!

Genius! Only...it was just the top layer that had absorbed moisture and hardened, and if I had been more diligent I would have discovered that rather quickly. So the hot water sort of melted the top layer and I looked into the bucket and saw pristine pellets that were rapidly turning into...a solid mass.

And to make matters worse, the solution wasn't sufficiently concentrated to do much more than melt a little bit of the thinnest ice. Pretty much the worst possible outcome.

I am usually diligent in keeping the driveway clear of ice. It is shielded from the sun by the house and by a canopy of large trees, so once it gets icy it is a huge ordeal to make it walkable. I am that neighborhood lunatic who uses his snowblower at all hours. But I was otherwise engaged a few weeks ago and it just sort of got away from me.

Oh...does anyone want to buy about 10 pounds of solid calcium chloride? Asking for a friend...

posted by CBD at 02:00 PM

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