Can Road Salt Hurt My Concrete Driveways?

Road Salt

• Road salt is used as a de-icing agent. You can purchase it at a home-improvement store and use it to clear the walkways around your home, as well as your driveway. Even if you don’t buy it yourself, the municipality where you live might use it. As you drive around the city, road salt collects on the underside of your car. At night, when you park in your driveway, the road salt drips from your car onto the concrete driveway.

Damage

• Rock salt speeds up the deterioration of your driveway. It causes flaking and pitting in the top layer of your driveway. The flakes can be quite large. This damage is called spalling. It is unattractive and can trap dirt, which makes keeping your driveway clean a bigger challenge. The chips and holes become progressively worse with each winter.

Solutions

• If you are using road salt on your concrete driveway, stop. If you live in an area where it is used on the roads, then you need to protect your driveway. Repair work and sealing is easiest to do during a dry period in the spring or summer. Start by patching the holes. Because you won't be able to find a patching compound that perfectly matches your driveway color, purchase enough to put a coat over your entire driveway to keep its uniform appearance. A very thin coat is sufficient. Once the coat is applied and has had a few days to dry, you can go over your driveway with concrete sealant. This protects it from the damaging action of road salt.

Considerations

• Shoveling or blowing snow off your driveway promptly can help reduce your driveway’s exposure to rock salt; it won’t mix with the melting snow. Parking in your garage or on the street also cuts down on exposure. If spalling and pitting are recurring problems, consider replacing it with one made of asphalt. Asphalt can be damaged by road salt, but it usually stands up to it better and is easier to patch and seal. Most homeowners don't consider it as attractive as concrete, however.