What Do I Use to Melt Ice on My Driveway That Is Made Out of Pavers?

Salt

• You can use salt to melt the ice on your pavers just like you would any other driveway. However, sodium can be harmful to pavers in large doses; thus, if you anticipate a difficult winter season, look into alternatives to salt to help you melt ice so that you don't risk harming the surface of your pavers.

Other Chloride Products

• Any product that is made of chloride will melt ice on your pavers. This is why you can use salt to melt ice -- salt is sodium chloride and thus part of the chloride family. Calcium chloride is a common alternative to sodium chloride for melting ice because it won't harm the surface of the driveway, as sodium might. Most mason suppliers sell 50-pound bags of calcium chloride pellets for this purpose.

Calcium Magnesium Acetate

• Any product that contains calcium magnesium acetate as an active ingredient will be effective against ice on your pavers, according to EP Henry. Check the ingredients on any anti-ice products you buy for your driveway. You can buy products containing this ingredient at most hardware stores; most ice-melting pellets contain calcium magnesium acetate.

Efflorescence

• The problem with using salt on pavers is that it might leave a white powder residue on your pavers when the ice melts. This residue is called efflorescence. It occurs because the melting ice allows salts that are already in the pavers to come to the surface. You can sometimes treat pavers with a cleaning solution to get rid of the residue, but in some cases it crystallizes and can't be gotten rid of.