icy weather..good idea to keep a bag of rock salt or kitty litter in vehicle and home

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bored2deth

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Feb 27, 2011
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Slipped on frosty stairs, down I went lickity split..knocked my brains out this time. Broke ribs last december because of it. Going to start keeping a bag of gritty kitty litter on porch..and in truck. Either that or salt. Or something. Hate icy stairs in the morning..glad Ive got quick reflexes or id have brokeb my fool neck! Hope you all stay safe in the ice and snow and frost.
 
It's a good idea to keep a packable sleeping in your vehicle as well.
 
I fell on my porch steps in the first snow of Nov. 2013. Broke my collarbone and cracked my ribs. Ribs still hurt. I had some kitty litter and tried it, but it turned into slick mud. Now I keep salt mixtures in a shaker jug. Some calcium chloride for cold temps, rock salt for traction, sodium chloride, various mixtures. Bought a long-handle square shovel to keep handy. My ribs remind me to clear the steps and grab the rail.
 
If you are out of salt or kitty litter, you can used ashes from burned wood. Spread the ashes on the surface of the ice and it will help with melting and with traction.
 
As I understand it, the clumping kitty litter that most people use now is worse than useless for traction. Buy a little bag of the old-fashioned cheap stuff. They still have it in the stores.
 
hatch said:
I fell on my porch steps in the first snow of Nov. 2013. Broke my collarbone and cracked my ribs. Ribs still hurt. I had some kitty litter and tried it, but it turned into slick mud. Now I keep salt mixtures in a shaker jug. Some calcium chloride for cold temps, rock salt for traction, sodium chloride, various mixtures. Bought a long-handle square shovel to keep handy. My ribs remind me to clear the steps and grab the rail.
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I know how that feels. Lol..my rail is actually what broke my ribs..instead of saving my butt.
 
M.FREEZE said:
If you are out of salt or kitty litter, you can used ashes from burned wood. Spread the ashes on the surface of the ice and it will help with melting and with traction.
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Wood ash does a great job for traction and melting (dark colour). My only issue with it is that I either have too many pups to track it into the house or collectively they have too many paws :rolleyes:

To get the vehicle out of a jam in the laneway :thumbup:

Susan
 
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The granular kitty litter such as sold at WM (Special Kitty) is what I use. I learned my lesson a long time ago when walking down the stairs of a Days Inn. The concrete stairs were totally covered with ice from freezing rain the night before and I slipped really bad and caught myself but in the process wrenched my arm really bad. I was thankful that I didn't break anything. But I know as an older person now, I would have broke something given the same circumstances.

The kitty litter is also handy if you need just a bit of traction in your car to get you going on ice or for soaking up spills that occur around the garage from time to time. I keep a couple bags in my work vehicle "just in case". Used them once at a diesel spill (damaged fuel tank) that I came upon where the emergency people were ill equiped. I bought a little time until they got the oil dry and so forth to the site.

Good to have a bag of salt or two available too, but it is slow acting. Kiddy sand also is a good choice for traction.
 
Cougar Allen said:
As I understand it, the clumping kitty litter that most people use now is worse than useless for traction. Buy a little bag of the old-fashioned cheap stuff. They still have it in the stores.
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Tried litter decades ago when stuck ice fishing, it turns to sludge. Maybe there is better out there now, dunno. I run a bag of sand and a shovel now.
 
I use an ice chopper to keep the ice off my steps. Sometimes I spread small bits of crushed gravel on the ice too.
 
I pack salt, sand and kitty litter just build up. Salt i suppose could damage the deck i have concrete steps.

But well worth it as my uncle is missing most of one hand and is lucky to be alive because a slippery step and a chilly night.
 
Sand works as good as any just make sure you dry it out.Not much good if its a frozen lump.Never found wood ashes to be very good coal ashes work fine.
 
Yeah, coal ashes work very well. I grew up with seemingly an infinite supply during the winter. One of my jobs was to carry the ashes to our large garden and spread them out to be worked into the soil later. The potatoes always seemed to like it.
 
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