Smart Salting
The more snow you remove manually, the less salt you will have to use and the more effective it will be. Brooms work well to sweep away residual snow after shoveling and snow blowing and often no salt is needed.
Below 15F, traditional rock salt is ineffective. Use sand or another abrasive for traction.
Water Softeners
Most wastewater treatment plants are not able to remove salt from wastewater, so all water softener salt passes through the treatment plant and into local water systems. Increasing your softener’s efficiency protects our water resources.
One way to cut your softener’s salt use is by installing a blending valve that allows some “hardness” to bypass through the softener, blending fully-softened with some unsoftened water.
Winter Salt Week - January 26-30, 2026 