can I dry wet ice melter?
#1
can I dry wet ice melter?
So I have some ice melter granules/pellets (you know the kind you spread on the sidewalk to melt icy conditions in the winter) and I stored some of it in a five-gallon bucket but didn't have it sealed with lid. I noticed it somehow got wet on it's own over time, just sitting in the bucket in a dry shed. I was reading about it and discovered that this kind of ice melter which contains sodium chloride (salt) will pull water out of the air so unless it is in a sealed container it will get wet. I'd like to completely dry out this wet ice melter stuff if possible, and then store properly in a sealed container when/if it will dry.
I was thinking maybe if I spread it out thin on a tarp or something in a warm, dry room that it might dry out after a day or two. Or will it probably not ever dry, and just stay wet because it will just continue to pull out whatever moisture might be in the air?
I was thinking maybe if I spread it out thin on a tarp or something in a warm, dry room that it might dry out after a day or two. Or will it probably not ever dry, and just stay wet because it will just continue to pull out whatever moisture might be in the air?
#3
What you think is a dry room still has moisture in the air. You might be able to dry it in an oven a little at a time at very low temp for an hour or so. But then you'll be using electric/gas the whole time
The stuff is so cheap why bother? And sodium chloride is plain old salt, not good for plants or lawns or concrete.
The stuff is so cheap why bother? And sodium chloride is plain old salt, not good for plants or lawns or concrete.
#4
How about spreading it on the tarp & use a hair dryer, to dry it.
What you think is a dry room still has moisture in the air.
You might be able to dry it in an oven a little at a time at very low temp for an hour or so. But then you'll be using electric/gas the whole time
The stuff is so cheap why bother?
And sodium chloride is plain old salt
Guess I'll spread some out thin on a tarp like I said, let it sit in the boiler room where it's warm all the time, check it in a week or two or three and see if if ever dries out out what.
#5
Lol...I pay way more than that for 25lb bags of cat food or bird seed. It's all relative I guess.
#6
I could use a hair dryer to melt the ice on the deck maybe. Then I wouldn't have to buy the ice melt at all.
Naw...
Naw...
#8
Member
Your ice melt is probably calcium chloride or some other mixture. Think about it sodium chloride is salt like table salt only coarse. Does the salt in your salt shaker draw moisture from the air?
Why not lay the stuff on a tarp on a hot day in the sun, let it dry, break it up and let it dry more then put it in a sealed container?
All it costs is a tarp if you don't have one and a little time.
You must not have the original package which would tell you the chemical makeup then you could research if there is anything else beneficial to do with it. I doubt it.
The compound could be calcium magnesium acetate. Don't know anything about that except it is a lot less corrosive than salt or CaCl2
CaCl2 is less harmful to plants than salt, The CMA is more benign than either.
Why not lay the stuff on a tarp on a hot day in the sun, let it dry, break it up and let it dry more then put it in a sealed container?
All it costs is a tarp if you don't have one and a little time.
You must not have the original package which would tell you the chemical makeup then you could research if there is anything else beneficial to do with it. I doubt it.
The compound could be calcium magnesium acetate. Don't know anything about that except it is a lot less corrosive than salt or CaCl2
CaCl2 is less harmful to plants than salt, The CMA is more benign than either.
#9
Desiccants can be recharged but it usually takes quite a bit of heat in the oven
Why not lay the stuff on a tarp on a hot day in the sun, let it dry, break it up and let it dry more then put it in a sealed container? All it costs is a tarp if you don't have one and a little time.
#10
Member
How wet is it? Like tightcoat said, it probably has calcium chloride in it. That will draw moisture out of the air -- part of what makes it so effective as an ice melter, as it generates heat when it gets wet, and then becomes a liquid brine on the surface. It's also spread on dirt roads to keep dust down, because it draws moisture into the road.
So if you spread it on a tarp, and you have any humidity in the air, it's just going to want to suck in even more moisture from the atmosphere.
Plus, road maintenance agencies actually pre-wet their salts when they apply them on the road, because it helps them stick to the surface and gets them into solution quicker.
Just food for thought. If it were me, and it's not literally sopping wet, I might just seal it up and let it be.
So if you spread it on a tarp, and you have any humidity in the air, it's just going to want to suck in even more moisture from the atmosphere.
Plus, road maintenance agencies actually pre-wet their salts when they apply them on the road, because it helps them stick to the surface and gets them into solution quicker.
Just food for thought. If it were me, and it's not literally sopping wet, I might just seal it up and let it be.
#11
How wet is it?
Like tightcoat said, it probably has calcium chloride in it.
if you spread it on a tarp, and you have any humidity in the air, it's just going to want to suck in even more moisture from the atmosphere
Yeah, so I probably won't do that then.^
If it were me, and it's not literally sopping wet, I might just seal it up and let it be.
Thanks for all the replies.