How to Use Sand to De-Ice Your Driveway

During the winter months, your driveway can become littered with thick layers of ice as well as black ice that you cannot see. It is important to melt the ice that does form on your driveway so family and friends walking across your driveway do not slip and injury themselves. Although time consuming, ice melting can be a relatively easy task.

Materials you'll need:

• A bag of sand (or multiple if your driveway is large)


• A shovel


• Boots

1. Place the bags of sand you will be using to de-ice your driveway in your home in the warmest spot. This will increase the temperature of the sand. Since sand cannot melt ice on its own, the temperature of the sand must be warmer than the ice to melt it. 


2. Shovel away any snow that is on top of the ice on your driveway. Use a shovel or a snow blower to achieve this task.


3. Break-up the thickest areas of ice on your driveway the best you can. You can use a shovel, your boot, or an ice pick to hack away at the tough ice spots.


4. Open a bag of sand and spread the sand slowly and evenly across your driveway. You can use your hand to sprinkle handfuls of sand. The sand layer does not have to be thick, but make sure all areas of the driveway are covered.


5. Let the sand sit on your driveway for thirty minutes to an hour.


6. Create friction on your driveway. Do this by walking carefully over the sand on your driveway. You can also roll your car or ice blower on the off setting over the sand. Because the sand will now be the same temperature as the ice, it will not melt the ice on it's own. Creating friction on the ice will cause heat between the sand and ice to help melt it.


7. Leave the sand on your driveway throughout the icy season. The sand will help prevent more ice from forming on your driveway and every time you walk or drive across your driveway, the friction you create will continue to help melt any ice that does form.


8. Retouch the sand when it starts dispersing so there is no longer a visible layer of sand on your driveway when you are looking directly down at it.