Answers to the questions we hear most about chloride products, delivery and ordering. Don't see yours? Call us at 1-888-CHLORIDE.
In the ice melt vs salt debate, 'salt' means plain NaCl and 'ice melter' usually means a blend or a premium chloride. Salt is cheapest and works to about −9 °C; a blended driveway product adds CaCl₂ or MgCl₂ to reach lower temperatures and act faster. The right answer follows your coldest week, not the bag price. Volume and contract pricing beat any retail ice melter sale.
The best ice melter for concrete is the magnesium grade applied thin — or CMA (calcium magnesium acetate) melter, the specialty low-corrosion option often specified for parkades and new infrastructure. We supply the magnesium grade; CMA is a niche product we can discuss for specification work.
Yes — calcium chloride pool grade is the standard product for raising calcium hardness in pool water, protecting plaster and preventing corrosive water balance. Dose to your test kit's target range and use a product with a purity statement.
Search MSDS sodium chloride and you will land on the modern equivalent: the SDS. Every product we ship — salt, calcium, magnesium and potassium grades — comes with a current SDS, and we email any sheet on request before you order.
The closest thing to a concrete safe ice melt is the magnesium grade — lowest chemical attack on properly cured, air-entrained concrete — applied thinly. No de-icer is fully harmless on concrete under one year old or poorly finished slabs; there, use sand for traction and remove slush promptly. Calibrating your ice melter spreader matters as much as the chemistry: over-application is what damages most slabs.
We supply the chloride side of water treatment chemicals — high-purity softener salt, KCl for sodium-restricted systems and brine-grade product — with certificates of analysis. Coagulants, polymers and disinfection chemicals are outside our range.
Yes — food-grade calcium chloride pickling salt keeps cucumbers and other vegetables crisp without the sodium, and it is the firming agent behind most commercial pickle brands. Only ever use the food grade; we ship it with a certificate of analysis.
No — roof de-icing cable systems are electrical heat-trace products, a different trade. Where de-icing cables solve ice dams with electricity, our answer is chemistry: calcium-based puck or sock products laid in the trouble spots. Both approaches work; cables cost more up front, chloride costs a little every winter.
Yes — de-icing car parks, driveways and walkways is exactly what the bagged range is for. An SDS for every grade — sodium, calcium and magnesium — ships with each order, and the same product that clears a municipal lot works at house scale.
What is calcium chloride? A hygroscopic salt of calcium and chlorine used for de-icing, dust suppression and industrial drying. The CaCl₂ formula is CaCl₂ — the chemical formula of CaCl₂ pairs one calcium ion with two chloride ions, and you will see the CaCl₂ molecular formula written CaCl₂ on every SDS and spec sheet we ship. The formula of CaCl₂ matters practically: those two chloride ions per unit are why it melts ice so aggressively and pulls moisture from the air.
What is a sodium chloride product in our catalogue? Plain salt — the same compound as table salt, in de-icing, softener and food grades. The formula of sodium chloride is NaCl, and the sodium chloride formula mass (molar mass) works out to 58.44 g/mol. An SDS — what older documentation calls an MSDS — ships with every order, covering handling, storage and first-aid measures.
The safest ice melt for pets in our range is the magnesium-based blend — it is less irritating to paws and gentler on the vegetation dogs walk through than straight rock salt. No chloride is edible, so the practical rule for any pet friendly ice melt is the same: spread thin, sweep up excess, and wipe paws after walks.
No — and it is worth being precise. Plane de-icing uses heated glycol sprayed on the airframe, and airport runways use acetate and formate products, because chloride corrodes aircraft aluminum. If you searched de-icing plane or aircraft de-icing looking for glycol, we are not that supplier. Our chloride serves roads, parking lots, walkways and driveway or car-park de-icing — everything on the ground outside the airfield fence.
Salt brine is simply salt dissolved in water at about 23 % concentration. Sprayed on pavement before a storm, it prevents ice from bonding, and used to pre-wet dry salt at the spinner it keeps granules on the road instead of bouncing off. We supply ready-made brine in liquid totes and the bulk salt to make your own.
Calcium chloride dust control is one of the two standard programs for gravel roads — flake or liquid applied after grading holds moisture in the surface and binds fines all season. Magnesium chloride does the same job with lower corrosion. One treatment usually carries a road through the dry months; our dust-control application guide covers rates.
If you want an ice melter calcium chloride is the strongest chemistry available — a calcium chloride ice melter works to about −32 °C and generates heat as it dissolves. Buyers choosing calcium chloride for ice melting on priority surfaces — hospital entrances, loading docks, steep lots — accept the higher per-tonne price because it clears fastest when temperatures crash.
Yes — magnesium chloride flakes are the standard dry format, and magnesium chloride as ice melt is effective to about −15 °C. As a magnesium chloride ice melter it trades some deep-cold power for noticeably lower corrosion, which is why property managers pick it for newer concrete, metal thresholds and landscaped edges.
Yes. We deliver bulk, liquid, tote and bagged chloride to every province and territory across the country, with contract schedules for municipalities and contractors.
Calcium chloride works to −32 °C and melts fastest; magnesium chloride is lower-corrosion to about −15 °C; sodium chloride (rock salt) is the economical high-volume option to about −9 °C.
Yes — seasonal and volume contract pricing is available for municipalities, contractors and industrial buyers, with priority restock for established accounts.
Bulk pneumatic and live-bottom, one-tonne totes, palletized bags, and liquid brine. We match the format to your storage and handling.
Every shipment includes a current Safety Data Sheet and certificate of analysis. Documentation for any product is available on request.
Most quotes are returned the same business day. Use the Request a Quote form or call 1-888-CHLORIDE.
Tell us the product, volume and delivery point. Most quotes go out the same business day.