Salting a Slate Walkway
- 1). Shovel snow from your walkway before it accumulates and turns into ice. This is the easiest and most cost-effective alternative to salting and should be practiced whenever possible.
- 2). Use materials that increase traction and reduce slips and falls. Common household products you can use include kitty litter and sand, neither of which are harmful to slate walkways.
- 3). Use an alternative type of de-icer, such as CMA or potassium acetate. Although these are more expensive than everyday rock salt, they are also less corrosive to stone. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, both are also better for the environment.
- 4). Use a temporary heated walkway in the winter that goes over the top of your walkway and keeps it free from snow. For a more permanent solution, home improvement magazine Charles and Hudson recommends pulling up your slate and installing thermal heating elements underneath it; this, of course, is the most costly and labor-intensive solution.
