Servicemaster Building Services

Salt acts as a breaking agent for ice. Sprinkling salt on the roadways or walkways is often done to reduce the amount of ice on the path. As foot or road traffic passes over the salt, it presses the salt pieces down causing them to split the ice below. The friction enables the ice to warm and dissolve. Salt prevents ice and snow from forming. Water that contains salt freezes at a lower temperature than regular water, therefore salt mixed with melting snow and ice is less likely to refreeze or ice over again. The result is a slushy mixture of salt and water that can often attach to shoes that accompany people into their office spaces and onto their floors.