Safe Paw Ice Melt

Although winter is nearing an end, we are still getting snow here in Michigan!  It has been a winter full of snow, ice, and more snow and ice.  With Poca needing to go outside multiple times a day, I went searching for a safe ice melt for our back steps.  

 (see the lamp post?  totally buried!)

Poca is funny - she's scared of steps.  It took her the longest time to actually walk down the couple of stairs we have in the back.  At first she was so tiny that we carried her to where we wanted her to go potty, but we eventually had to coax her down the steps.  She still won't go down the back stairs into our basement without lots of encouragement.  As you can see, I really didn't want the steps to get icy and traumatize her further!

I looked up many different kids of ice melt and settled on Safe Paw.  Salt is actually not a good option for ice melting - it damages the environment and causes pain and irritation to pet paws.  Some companies take rock salt and simply smooth off the jagged edges, which doesn't really solve anything.  Others market chemicals mixed with salt or products that still contain hefty warnings on them.

I am not a scientist by any means, but in all my searching, Safe Paw came up as a winner each time.  It is guaranteed safe for children, the environment, pets, and your property.  It is also safe to use on my wooden steps.  I still used it sparingly because I didn't like Poca tracking it in - Isaac thought it was candy and would try to pick up the little pieces.  However, when I really needed it, Safe Paw seemed to provide just enough traction and melt that Poca could safely get down the steps.  I used it on our front sidewalk a few times also when it got too icy.  I'm happy we've found a safe brand to use!

Safe Paw sent us a jug of their ice melt to review.  Check out their FAQ for more information.