Winter can throw many curveballs at businesses—from figuring out how to keep your team and customers safe to dodging closures due to blizzards and slick roads. But what if you could outsmart the storm before it even hits? Enter anti-icing: the secret weapon that keeps winter from wreaking havoc on your operations.

But what exactly is anti-icing and how is it different than de-icing? 

A Preventative Approach to Winter

Anti-icing is a preventative strategy used to combat snow and ice before they can create hazardous conditions. Unlike traditional deicing methods, which involve breaking down the bonds that have already formed between snow and pavement, anti-icing works by preventing the formation of bonds in the first place. 

When applied, anti-icing agents lower the freezing point of snow, delaying ice formation and making any ice that forms easier to remove. This process turns snow into a slush rather than allowing it to compact and harden into ice and freeze on pavement. The result? Improved safety for roads, walkways, and parking lots. 

In short, anti-icing is a proactive measure to combat snowfall, while deicing is a reactive solution for handling extended winter weather events. Together, these services deliver top-notch winter maintenance, ensuring your property stays safe and accessible all season long.

Staying Ahead of the Storm

Anti-icing offers several compelling benefits that directly impact your business, making it a smart choice to consider for winter:

Staff Safety – Ensuring that your staff can get to work safely is a top priority. Anti-icing treatments help keep roads and walkways clear, improving accessibility to your business, and reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. 

Business Continuity – With anti-icing in place, your business can stay open during snowstorms, ensuring you don’t lose out on valuable revenue. 

Cost-Effective – MSNW offers anti-icing services at a flat rate, making it easy for you to budget for winter maintenance without unexpected costs. An anti-icing approach not only reduces the need for de-icing materials and labor but also cuts down on clean-up costs post-winter storm.

Saves Time and Labor – Anti-icing significantly reduces the time and labor required for snow and ice removal. 

Environmental benefits – Anti-icing uses less material than traditional methods, reducing the amount of salt and chemicals that need to be applied later. This not only saves resources but also minimizes environmental impact due to runoff and chemical distribution.

So, don’t wait for the storm to hit—get ahead of the game with anti-icing and keep your winter smooth and stress-free!

Choosing the Right Agent

There are several chemical agents used for anti-icing and de-icing, each with unique properties tailored to different pavement types and weather conditions.

Granular Ice Melt – Granular anti-icing materials are most effective when applied just before a winter storm begins. This category includes chemicals like magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium chloride, and different blends. Though effective, granular ice melt can be susceptible to displacement in high-traffic areas, where it might get scattered or brushed away. However, it remains an excellent choice for treating parking lots and other large, open surfaces.

Liquid Salt Brine – The most common anti-icing agent, liquid salt brine, is highly effective at lowering the freezing point of water. It adheres better to surfaces than solid materials, providing consistent coverage during cold weather. Liquid brine can be applied up to 48 hours before a forecasted frost.

Blended Brines – These blends commonly incorporate 5-20% organic materials, such as beet juice, in addition to salt, chemical, or magnesium brine, to enhance anti-icing’s effectiveness for certain road conditions and special property types.

Anti-icing at the Right Moment

Anti-icing methods are most effective when applied at the right time. To prevent ice from forming, chemicals need to be applied before it starts, so early planning is crucial. It’s wise to have a solid winter weather plan in place as early as September. Waiting until the last minute could undermine the effectiveness of anti-icing and leave you scrambling to find available professionals to provide services. 

By hiring professionals who use advanced weather technology, you ensure that the right treatment is applied at the right time. This keeps your property safe and accessible, allowing you to relax while winter weather takes its course!

Key Takeaways 

• • For the most effective winter property maintenance, a combination of anti-icing and deicing is recommended.

• • Anti-icing services should be secured before the winter season begins.

• • Anti-icing offers significant cost and environmental benefits.

• • Protecting your business with proactive anti-icing is a smart, stress-free way to handle winter. 

Don’t wait until the snow starts falling to think about winter maintenance. Join MSNW’s route today, and let our team handle your anti-icing needs this season!