Homemade Sidewalk De-Icer

Back when we lived in a densely populated subdivision in Northwest Reno, there were at least three successful lawyers who also lived on our street.  We got snow, sometimes several inches, sometimes even a foot or two, a few times each year.  And these guys never shoveled their sidewalks.  They all had strong, healthy teenage sons who could have done the job in less than 10 minutes. 

I knew there had to be a reason.

I finally asked the one lawyer we knew the best—he and my husband actually had classes together in high school—what the deal was.  He explained that if a person slips and falls on a shoveled sidewalk and decides to sue the homeowner, the homeowner is more likely to lose in court.  Clearing the sidewalk creates the impression of safety.  Those who didn’t shovel their sidewalks were less likely to lose in court if a person got injured because it was obvious the sidewalk wasn’t cleared and was thus unsafe.  I can’t say that this makes sense to me.  And I don’t know if the law is like that in other jurisdictions. 

What I do know is that we quit shoveling our sidewalks. 

We now have a long driveway and wide front porch and sidewalks we have to walk on to reach the firewood.  So we’re back to shoveling at least a little bit.  (Well, Aaron uses a snow blower and snow melt for the driveway.)

Snowmelt is really nice stuff.  It’s easy to use and does the job quickly.  Unfortunately, it’s pretty expensive.  And it’s also not so good for the plants that line the porch and sidewalks.  If the sun comes out, it does a pretty good job of helping to clear the sidewalks, but if it’s really cold and cloudy and I don’t want to be out there shoveling myself, this homemade sidewalk de-icer works pretty well.

Sidewalk De-Icer

1 gallon hot water

2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol

2 teaspoons liquid dish detergent

Combine everything in a gallon milk jug and pour over walkways.  The sidewalks won’t refreeze and you won’t have salt eating the concrete or killing your plants.