To clear ice and snow, there are rock salt alternatives that are safer for your pets and yard

Winter has its fans, but even those who enjoy playing in the snow probably dislike the chore of clearing up after a big storm that dumps several inches or even feet of snow and ice.

It's easy to dash to the closest hardware store to grab a bag of salt, but experts say there are a lot of environmental and other factors to consider when tackling all that ice and snow.

Here's what to know.

Rock salt, also known as sodium chloride, is the cheapest and most commonly used product. But it's not great for the environment and it's not the most effective option out there.

“There's a chart we reference that’s chemical effectiveness at certain temperatures. And really, when you get to about 15 degrees or colder, you can keep applying more and more rock salt and it’s not going to do any more than it already does,” said Martin Tirado, CEO of the Snow and Ice Management Association, a trade group for industry professionals.

In those conditions, other products — calcium chloride, magnesium chloride — release heat that helps the salt work better, Tirado said.

The different formulations vary in other ways, too, including how quickly they work, their corrosiveness and how they interact with moisture. Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride can cost at least twice as much as rock salt.

But all contain chlorides that can pollute fresh water, damage shrubs, trees and grass and crumble concrete sidewalks, stoops and driveways.

Blends and coatings can reduce the corrosive nature and environmental hazards of these salts, experts say.

Calcium manganese acetate is one of the tamest de-icing products out there, developed specifically to replace rock salt and be more environmentally friendly. It is biodegradable, a corrosion inhibitor, and typically used as a liquid. But it is much more expensive and can still create issues with dissolved oxygen on bodies of water.

Pamela Bennett, a horticulture professor at Ohio State, said rock salt is the worst for plants. It gets them in two ways: through the roots and through the air.

Salt percolates through the soil. When plants start to draw in salty water in the spring, that dries roots, leading to dry leaves. Brown tips on leaves indicate the soil might have gotten too salty.

Salt can also reach plant foliage — in the winter, that's evergreens — directly when it's carried by mist and spray. That's an issue that's worse on major roads as a lot of traffic moves quickly.

“When you have a lot of road salt on the highways, cars are splashing and wind blows it. That salt turns into what looks like a burn,” Bennett says.

Most people walking their dog in snowy places have seen what happens when they walk across a heavy salt treatment — stopping suddenly and lifting a paw as if in pain.

“Their paw pads get dry or they get little cuts because those crystals are sharp, and then they’re chewing them because that’s the only way they know to make it feel better,” said Alison Manchester, an assistant clinical sciences professor at Cornell University. If they swallow enough salt, it can lead to vomiting, too.

For some people, animal safety is a strong reason to look to a nonsalt option against ice and snow.

Abrasives such as gravel and sand can help with grip, so pedestrians and tires are less likely to slip. But they also come with their own problems.

Sand that runs off into freshwater bodies — lakes, streams and rivers — can kill natural growth, Tirado said.

Sand can also accumulate in your soil, eventually becoming a problem for plant growth. It can even make a type of concrete when it mixes in clay-heavy soils, experts say.

Unconventional solutions are out there. You can buy a deicer that wraps its chlorides in beet juice or beet extract that coats the granules for a variety of benefits, including melting ice faster, working in colder temperatures and staying where it's put. And a Korean company, Star's Tech, is working with material taken from invasive starfish to produce a deicer that it says more slowly releases chloride material and thus avoids some of the corrosion and environmental problems of salt.

Experts say preparation and strategy can make clearing ice easier. That starts with watching forecasts to see how much snow is expected.

“People wait until after the storm to start shoveling,” Tirado said. “That’s fine if you’re having 1 to 2 inches. If you start getting 3, 4 or more inches than that, you can’t wait ... you need to go out multiple times. That way it keeps the paved surface more clear in a productive and proactive manner.”

Ground temperature matters. If it’s warmer, you may be able to use less than you think you need. Colder ground temperatures might require more.

Proper application of whatever you put on your sidewalk or driveway is important, too.

“The key here is to not use too much and scatter it too much,” said David Orr, director of the Local Roads Program at Cornell. “We also do probably need to get into the habit that it may not be perfectly bare and that can be OK.”

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FILE - Salt is applied to the steps as snow falls at Buffalo Bills Highmark Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Dec. 7, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

FILE - Ice Crusher, a calcium chloride blend road salt, is displayed for sale at Ankeny Hardware, Jan. 11, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

FILE - Salt and shovels are displayed for sale at Ankeny Hardware, Jan. 11, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn., ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the state over the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FILE - Salt is spread on a street in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

PARIS (AP) — The captain of a tanker intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea by the French navy on suspicion of shipping oil in violation of sanctions against Russia was being held in custody on Sunday for questioning.

The ship’s Indian captain, 58, was handed to judicial authorities following the diversion of the oil tanker, Grinch, and its arrival at anchorage in the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer, the Marseille prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The investigation is being conducted by the Maritime Gendarmerie’s Investigation Unit in Toulon, jointly with the Marseille Ship Safety Centre, on charges of failure to fly a valid flag, according to the statement, which added that the crew, also of Indian nationality, was being kept on board.

"The purpose of the investigation is to verify the validity of the flag flown by the tanker and the documents required for its navigation,” the statement said.

The Grinch came from Murmansk in northwestern Russia and is suspected of being part of the sanctioned Russian “shadow fleet." A video provided by the French military showed members of the navy boarding the ship from a helicopter earlier this week.

Russia is believed to be using a fleet of over 400 ships to evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine. France and other countries have vowed to crack down.

The fleet comprises aging vessels and tankers owned by nontransparent entities with addresses in non-sanctioning countries, and sailing under flags from such countries.

Last September, French naval forces boarded another oil tanker off the French Atlantic coast that President Emmanuel Macron also linked to the shadow fleet. Putin denounced that interception as an act of piracy.

That tanker’s captain will go on trial in February over the crew’s alleged refusal to cooperate, according to French judicial authorities.

In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, France's Navy, working with intelligence provided by the United Kingdom, on Thursday intercepted an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, in a mission targeting the sanctioned Russian shadow fleet, officials said. (Etat-Major des Armees via AP)

In this photo, provided by the French Army on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, an oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea that traveled from Russia, is pictured after being intercepted by France's Navy. (Etat-Major des Armees via AP)