Digit, we don't use any de-icer. Never thought about fertilizer, and we don't like salt because of the dogs. So we just make sure we get out and shovel the driveway and steps right after a snow. Fortunately, this area is south facing, so it drys up quite nicely. For the backyard we haven't really addressed that issue.

My biggest problem is that I let the dogs out through the garage. And I tend to wear slippers around the house all day. If I should happen to step outside (the slippers are actually nice sheepskin lined booties) and come back into the garage with my feet wet, I have to be careful as I have slipped on the garage floor more than once - occasionally landing on my "bootie".

We don't bother with de-icer either. We either shovel immediately or suffer with slippery steps. Yesterday, I was wearing rather nice boots and, after quite a few slips on the way to the car, had to go change into rather boring boots with grippy soles. Then, on the way back, boyfriend half fell during his slip while carrying the groceries!!!! I jabbed at the little ice things with a metal shovel, all the while trying not to crack any of the paving stones.
So, long story short, my solution, if we forget to shovel, is to grab a handful of pine needles, dirt and gravely bits and toss them where they are needed.
Maybe I won't forget to shovel again...

I try to shovel it off asap, then its so dry here that what ever is left sorta sublimates away, even on the north where the sun doesn't shine and the temp is never over freezing.

Folks around here use cat litter as some kind of deicer / traction enhancer. I tried that once, but ended up having all kinds of clay footprints all through the house.

Worse comes to worse, I use hot water. I often have to do that on the drain downspouts, which get blocked up and the expansion pops them open.

I remember the days when I could still wear moccasins.

Sometimes, foolishly, I ventured outdoors in the snow and ice in them. Even as a young fella', it was sometimes surprising that I made it back to the house without either crawling or taking the darn things off!

d'S'

I use Safe Pet Ice Melter. It doesn't have any salt. Put some in an old cheese shaker bottle and sprinkle sparingly. Still wipe the dog's paws when he comes in, but this stuff isn't as corrosive on the concrete either.

We'd probably need Cnetter to explain a ice melter safe for critters but it looks that it has glycol. And, glycol apparently changes to alcohol under the circumstances. So, that lowers the freezing point of the water and the ice melts. Safe paws . . . maybe drunk earthworms . . . Looks lots less scary than salt or cheap lawn fertilizer, for that matter.

I see that various pet-safe brands sell for about $1.50/lb. I was in to the hardware store the other day and their salt must have been just as expensive!

It's the Cl of the NaCl that represents some danger. Chlorine ain't very good for our environment in concentration. So, calcium chloride and potassium chloride don't represent an improvement, I suppose. The link below to the Mad Scientist has some info on various de-icers.

I see that calcium magnesium acetate is considered the safest of all ice melting chemicals in regards to vegetation, concrete, and water but it is more than 30 times the cost of rock salt! So we are talking $45/lb retail!?!

The Mad Scientist says a little about concrete corrosion. (Interesting that the article is written by a chemical engineer with the US Postal Service.) What is said is that we probably worry too much about sidewalk/driveway corrosion since freezing & thawing is far more damaging than most anything we could put on the concrete. Urea, in a purer form, is what airports use. Hmmmm . . . Seems to me that getting too high of a nitrogen component wouldn't be safe for the plants.

digitS'

Here is a link that might be useful: chemical ice melters - USPS

Have you considered crampons?

Steve, do you have a shop vac around, that you can reverse as a blower? I discovered this a couple of years ago, and now have volunteers on the leaf detail.

Thought it might be the trick for quickly blowing off snow right outside a door.

I don't have a shop vac, David, but will need to borrow Dad's one of these first days. The bird house has some foam insulation that's broken apart on the floor. No birds in there now but when there are . . . can't see risking their health just because they are stupidly inclined to eat plastic.

I'll give the blower technique a try when I do - if it can be reversed.

digitalSteve

Although not for your sidewalks or driveway, I use RV antifreeze on my windshield to keep it from getting iced up.

Prestone makes a version that is a bit expensive, I found that the red RV Antifreeze is the same thing, supposed to be non-toxic (food grade), and it sure beats scraping ice in the morning. You just have to remember to spray it on the night before when you are expecting frost.

--->Rob