Ice, not just snow
Salting & Ice Melt
A driveway that's plowed but glazed over by morning isn't actually cleared. Salt or ice melt application, on a plow visit or as its own call when the forecast is ice rather than snow.
Salting and ice melt is applying salt or ice melt to a driveway, walkway, or lot to prevent a refreeze. In the Rockford area it typically runs $20 to $50 per application. Sourced from a 2026 LawnStarter-cited pricing roundup. Commercial lots are usually billed by volume of salt applied rather than a flat per-visit price; ask for both numbers when you call.
What's included
Every Salting Call Covers This
- Applied to any surface that was just cleared
- Rock salt standard, calcium chloride or liquid brine available on request
- Quoted with the visit, never added to the bill after
- Available as a standalone call when the forecast is ice, not snow
When it's worth calling on its own
Ice Doesn't Always Come With Snow
Most winters here have more freeze-thaw days than genuine snow events. A sunny afternoon that melts the top of a packed driveway, followed by a clear, cold night, leaves a sheet of ice with nothing to shovel. A plow does nothing for that. Salt or ice melt is the whole job.
- A melt-and-refreeze cycle, which is more common in Rockford than a fresh snowfall most of the winter
- A cleared surface that still has a thin glaze invisible until someone's already fallen
- Freezing rain with little or no snow, which a plow truck alone does nothing for
- Steps and entrances, where a fall is the most likely and the most serious
Rock salt or something else
Picking the Right Material
Rock salt (sodium chloride) is the standard, cheapest option and works down to roughly 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It's what most residential driveways get by default.
Calcium chloride or a liquid brine works at much colder temperatures and is gentler on newer concrete and nearby plants, at a higher cost. Worth asking for if your driveway or walk was poured recently, or if a stretch of true deep cold is in the forecast.
Commercial lots are usually billed by how much material gets put down rather than a flat per-visit number. See commercial snow removal for how a lot gets quoted overall.
Ice on the driveway and no snow to shovel?
That's still a call worth making. Tell us the address and we'll get it salted before someone falls.
Service area