{"id":3199,"date":"2026-04-06T11:03:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.seagrant.w3.uvm.edu\/?page_id=3199"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T15:04:24","slug":"reducing-use-of-deicing-salt-for-homeowners","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/reducing-use-of-deicing-salt-for-homeowners\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing Use of Deicing Salt for Homeowners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Individuals and homeowners who want to use less deicing salt in winter should consider pledging to commit to take personal action<\/a>. The pledge<\/a> asks you to consider adopting many of the following options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you go without salt, add traction, or reduce the area where you salt?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Salt
To reduce the use of salt, use no more than a cup or a cup and a half of rock salt for every 10 sidewalk squares or every 2 parking spaces. There should be about 3 inches between each of the salt grains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u200bFirst, determine if you must use salt or if you might be able to manage without salting on\u00a0all or\u00a0some areas of your property. Maybe you do not often go to a certain part of your property in winter that you can salt only if needed, or possibly not at all. In addition, you may consider using a traction control product on your shoes (e.g., Yaktrax, NANOspikes, Stabilicers) or shoes with built in traction (e.g., Icebug). Another alternative is to use an outdoor-safe electric heated mat like HeatTrak, especially if you have solar panels. Also, for driveways, using snow tires will provide added traction over summer tires or all season tires.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you need to use salt, remember these five tips:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n