The 9 Best Snow and Ice Melters

For most driveways and walks, Snow Joe Premium Enviro Blend strikes a sensible balance. It pairs fast chloride salts with calcium magnesium acetate, an additive that slows corrosion on concrete and metal, and Snow Joe rates it to about 10 below zero. The crystals are dyed green, so you can see where you've spread and stop before piling it on. The bag reseals to keep out damp air. It still contains rock salt, so wipe your dog's paws after walks.

Homes with dogs get the most from Natural Rapport Pet-Friendly Ice Melt, which leaves out calcium chloride, the ingredient most likely to sting paws. It mixes calcium magnesium acetate with milder salts and an organic compound, and Bob Vila's winter trial in Montana named it the best overall. A shaker jug with a handle makes it handy for steps and short paths. The maker doesn't publish a lowest working temperature, so bitter nights are a gamble.

When the thermometer drops well below zero, Blue Heat Ice Melter keeps biting into ice, and its maker rates it to 25 below. The pellets blend calcium, magnesium and sodium chlorides. The calcium gives off heat as it dissolves, so it starts working quickly, and the blue tint shows where you've spread. A big bag covers a long driveway through many storms. It's sold as pet-friendly, but it's a chloride mix, so wipe paws and skip fresh concrete.

Safe Paw has no salt and no chlorides at all, so it won't rust railings or burn the grass along a path. Its granules use a urea-type compound with glycols, made for homes with pets and children. The trade-off is power. It works slowly, and in an independent outdoor trial it stopped doing much once the pavement fell below about 15 degrees. It costs a lot per pound, so keep it for steps and paths where paws walk.

Long driveways on a budget are where Road Runner Premium Ice Melter fits. Scotwood Industries blends sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium chlorides into a mix rated to 15 below, enough for most cold snaps. It's a common sight at hardware stores, so a second bag is easy to find in the middle of a storm. It's a plain chloride mix, not a pet formula, and like any salt it can flake young or poorly sealed concrete.

Calcium chloride is the fastest common de-icer in hard cold, and AquaDoc Calcium Chloride Ice Melt sells it pure, as white flakes in a pail with a handle. AquaDoc rates it to 25 below. The tight lid matters, because calcium chloride pulls water from the air and cakes in an open bag. Wear gloves when you scoop it. The maker says it isn't made for pets and shouldn't go on concrete less than a year old.

Mined from an ancient seabed in Utah, Redmond Ice Slicer is a natural mix of chloride salts and trace minerals, with no dyes or urea added. It's listed for use on organic farms, and Redmond says one pouch treats about 400 square feet. It works down to around zero. Use a light hand, though: heavy spreading leaves a reddish grit that tracks indoors and shows on pale concrete.

Pestell Paw Thaw is a low-cost way into pet-friendly melt, packed in a blue jug with a handle and screw cap. Pestell says it's biodegradable and less irritating to paws than ordinary salt. Beyond calcium magnesium acetate, though, the full ingredient list isn't published, and no lowest working temperature is given. Pestell also warns against using it on concrete less than a year old. It's a fair pick for a few steps or a short walk.

From the big salt company comes Morton Safe-T-Pet, sold here as a pair of jugs. Morton says the formula has no salt or chlorides and was developed with veterinarians, though it doesn't publish the full recipe. It's rated only to about 10 degrees, so it suits mild winters and front steps more than bitter cold. Two jugs mean one can live by the back door. The pack costs a lot per pound.