Barn lime for steep, slippery driveway?

[Kickapoo]

I have a short steep section in my driveway that most cars can't manage in the winter (which just began this week). A friend of mine told me to try spreading barn line on top of the snow and that should give me enough traction to make it over the steep section until I can get it plowed. Anybody here ever done that?

[Cabin Fever]

Barn lime is a powder, so I doubt if you'll get much traction from it. Barn lime many melt some of the ice/snow, but not near as much as salt or calcium chloride will.

[VALENT]

Is this section melting and getting muddy and therefore undriveable? Because that is when the lime will help. It will do much to remove moisture.

[doc623]

No have not tried barn lime. Ikeep a pile of limstone around to spread on top of the snow/ice with a shovel.

[frazzlehead]

The other thing people here use is kitty litter.

[edcopp]

I use what we call "rock dust". This is a product like sand from the local rock crushing plant. Here the product is limestone. This costs me about $6 per ton. I like to keep some around for our sometimes slippery lane.

[doc623]

Another alternative is granulated potassium fertlizer.
It will melt ice and snow below freeing and when washes off or goes into the ground it will fertilize the soil and not contaminate or polute the soil.
Can be found at most feed mills in bulk that they will bag for you.

[littlebitfarm]

On my hill driveway I try and scrape the snow off the tracks before they get driven on. Then throw down some salt to keep anything else from sticking. Since it's gravel underneath I get decent traction. I'd be afraid to have a solid surface like concrete!

Kathie

[bare]

Anyone ever used "liquid chain". Nothing more than bleach.

I have to think there were tire chains available when I was a tot in E. Montana, but we never had any, just carried around a bottle of bleach and poured it over the tires when needed.

[Quint]

Originally Posted by bare

Anyone ever used "liquid chain". Nothing more than bleach.

I have to think there were tire chains available when I was a tot in E. Montana, but we never had any, just carried around a bottle of bleach and poured it over the tires when needed.

I knew a couple of guys when we were growing up (and when we were old enough to know better) that would carry a few gallons of bleach to douse their back tires with before a street race. Supposedly made the tires stickier for better launches. I have no idea if it really worked though. I was always told it played hell with tires so we never tried it.

[wormlady]

We keep a bucket of ash from the woodstove handy to apply to icy spots on the drive. Works great.

[Cabin Fever]

Originally Posted by VALENT

Is this section melting and getting muddy and therefore undriveable? Because that is when the lime will help. It will do much to remove moisture.

I've always thought that they use "quick lime" for this purpose. Quick lime will chemically react with water (thereby removing water) as well as create heat which also removes water by evaporation.

Quick lime is calcium oxide, barn lime is calcium hydroxide. The only difference is that barm lime is quicklime that has already been reacted with water at the factory.

[Kickapoo]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'll try the woodstove ash first since that is obviously the cheapest way to go. I'm glad the stuff can be put to good use. Hope it works!