Winter gritting salt – the perfect antidote to cure black ice

What do looking after our health and looking after roads, car parks and walkways have in common? Answer: they both rely on salt to keep them in top condition.

However, there are differences between the salt we eat and winter gritting salt – so don’t get them mixed up!

We’re all encouraged to better look after ourselves and are frequently told that too much salt is bad for us.

“Some salt (sodium) in our diet is good but eating too much salt may raise your blood pressure and increase your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases” British Heart Foundation (https://www.bhf.org.uk)

According to the BHF, a higher intake of salt is associated with:

• 23% increase in the risk of stroke
• 14% increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Winter gritting salt is best used on roads and car parks

When it comes to using winter gritting salt to keep roads and pavements free from ice, we adopt the same principle and make sure we use the correct amount which is dependent on conditions to ensure optimum coverage is obtained. Overspreading winter gritting salt has financial implications as well as environmental.

More than just a pinch of winter gritting salt

At OUTCO we use white marine salt as our primary de-icing agent. White salt is much more sustainable than brown salt (grit) because it is collected from evaporated seawater.

It’s more concentrated than brown salt and therefore is more effective as a de-icing agent.

• White salt is sustainable and more environmentally friendly, as it’s essentially evaporated seawater
• White salt gets to work faster than brown salt, as it’s 99.99% pure salt
• Almost 100% effective down to a temperature of -9 degrees Celsius
• Does not leave behind a messy residue after spreading
• It’s perfect for high footfall areas or locations where it may be trodden into buildings or vehicles, as it does not leave behind brown stains.

Find out how our all-round team delivers tech-enabled smart winter maintenance and other services…