People Are Using Sugar To Melt Their Icy Driveway – But Is It Really A Good Idea? New Title: Using Sugar To Thaw Your Icy Driveway

Scoop of granulated white sugar in a wooden spoon, the scoop overflowing onto a black countertop surface Bohdan Bevz/Getty Images

You may have seen on TikTok that you can use sugar to melt ice if your local stores are out of deicer. While sugar can help melt the ice, it’s not exactly the best option. There are a few things you should know before dumping sugar all over your walkway. Using it as a deicer isn’t really a good idea, and it’s not very cost-effective either. It doesn’t work as well as salt and can actually cause more problems than it solves, thanks to slipping hazards and pests.

Scientifically speaking, sugar doesn’t actually melt ice. Instead, it lowers the freezing point of water, similar to how salt works. But sugar is more soluble, so you’d end up using a lot more of it to get the same results as salt. Salt also weakens the structure of the ice, making it harder for it to reform. You could try using a small amount of sugar on patches of ice, but it’s probably not worth the effort when there are better alternatives out there.

Why you shouldn’t use sugar to melt ice and what to use instead

Icy driveway in various stages of melting Jansmarc/Getty Images

Sometimes you have to take those social media tips with a grain of salt. For every cool idea you see, there’s plenty of other ways to simplify the process. Using sugar to melt ice on your driveway or walkway is one of those examples. While sugar can melt the ice, it does so at a slower pace than salt. That means you’d have to use a lot more of it, which makes it the less cost-effective option. Sugar also isn’t great at cutting through thick sheets of ice on your driveway.

Sprinkling sugar on your walkway can also leave behind a sticky residue, which could attract pests like ants, cockroaches, and other critters with a sweet tooth. Plus, you might end up tracking that gooey mess right into your house. As the sugar sits on the surface, it can also collect dirt and debris, making your driveway look pretty gross once the ice finally melts.

Using sugar to melt ice can also create a refreezing hazard, so it’s best to just stick to using it for your homemade cookies. If you’re out of salt and need an alternative, try making an easy deicer by mixing 2 cups of warm water, 1 cup of rubbing alcohol, and 1/4 cup of dish soap in a bucket. Give it a stir, pour it on your driveway, and let it bubble up before scraping the ice away.