Todays tip :

[J.T.M.]

It works .........

[CherieOH]

Really? I'll have to try this. Our stoop on the north side is always coated with ice from a dripping leak in the spouting. The product Heat has worked better than anything so far, but not good enough.

[starjj]

Wow sounds like a simple fix. I need to give this a try. Thanks!

[Jokarva]

Thanks! I'm going to pass this on to MIL and SIL, they both are already unsteady enough without being on ice.

[Tricky Grama]

Don't want to hijack the thread but at 1st I thought it was my recipe for window cleaner. 1 part each: rubbing alcohol, vinegar, water.
Bet you can mix up about anything to do about anything.

[Jan in CO]

Thanks, I'm going to try this! Wonder how long it will last on wood steps?

[soulsurvivor]

WARNING CAUTION
This does not work!!!!

My husband tried this on a part of an outside concrete walk that's shaded from the sun. It DIDN'T work.

[simi-steading]

I bet if you replaced the dawn and alcohol with rock salt and stirred until diluted it would work... Brine...

[J.T.M.]

Originally Posted by soulsurvivor

WARNING CAUTION
This does not work!!!!

My husband tried this on a part of an outside concrete walk that's shaded from the sun. It DIDN'T work.

Really ......it worked unbelievably well for me .

[chickenista]

And for your windshield washer... rubbing alcohol and water. (ancient cabbie's secret)
I kept a very strong solution of it in a spray bottle for the windshield wipers themselves. They really want to build up with ice and snow and we had them snap right off. Not me though.. cuz I was smart.

[soulsurvivor]

Originally Posted by chickenista

And for your windshield washer... rubbing alcohol and water. (ancient cabbie's secret)
I kept a very strong solution of it in a spray bottle for the windshield wipers themselves. They really want to build up with ice and snow and we had them snap right off. Not me though.. cuz I was smart.

"very strong solution" - I bet that was more than one tablespoon rubbing alcohol to a half gallon of water.

[Joshie]

Doesn't Dawn get slippery? I use it to clean off the porch but must be very careful to rinse and rinse and rinse or people will slip and fall. This would be very expensive. Larger volumes of alcohol aren't exactly cheap and I wouldn't thin this solution would be good for plants. I cannot imagine half a gallon would go very far.

I would think sand would be environmentally safer. Be very careful of dishwashing detergent; it is very slippery.

Simi, if I was going to use salt in a brine I would just the salt sans water. The salt solution would be gone as soon as it hit the step. It would be more difficult to control (get into the soil) than rock salt or those safer salt products. I would use either a de-icer, an ice scraper, sand, or some combination of these products.

[soulsurvivor]

The solution might work on glass but you never ever want to hit frozen glass with hot/warm water unless you like itty bitty glass pieces everywhere. My husband drove a big rig and he used 90% alcohol in the windshield washer fluid to keep the wipers clear of ice.

The solution recipe is wrong and the directions are wrong. It should have more alcohol and no dishwashing liquid. If you use the solution as stated then you need to test the surface before using for walking. It did not work on concrete except to make more ice. Maybe it does better on glass, but not as a hot water application.

[sunflower-n-ks]

Dawn freezes solid. The bottle I keep by the hydrant for "whatever' is totally frozen right now. Does me no good that way.

[Suzyq2u]

50lb bag of rock salt for $6 at walmart seems to do the job just fine for us *shrug*. Lasts forever, even the goats get tired of trying to get it off the steps, lol

[simi-steading]

The Dawn acts as a surficant.. It breaks the surface tension of the water so the alcohol will mix with the water.

The recipe for this anti-freeze is very close to what a lot of us use for a record cleaner. If you don't add a couple drops of Dawn, the alcohol will separate from the water and not clean as well.

[soulsurvivor]

Dawn dish liquid freezes. DH mixed 5 tablespoons each of Dawn dish liquid and 90% alcohol into a half gallon of water. He poured it on the concrete at the side of the back door today but not in the main walking area. The outdoor conditions today have been temp in mid 20s with ice formation up until 2:00 pm. The outdoor temp now is upper 20s. The ice on the concrete around the back door melted EXCEPT in the area where the mixed solution was poured. That is still frozen solid.

Please don't argue with 2 old retirees who have nothing better to do today.

[beccachow]

Originally Posted by soulsurvivor

please don't argue with 2 old retirees who have nothing better to do today.

lol!!!!!!