Can you put salt on concrete driveway?

Putting salt on a driveway is generally not recommended but can be done. One of the issues with putting salt on a driveway is the corrosive and deleterious effects that salt can have on concrete and concrete reinforcement. Salt can increase rates of corrosion with concrete elements/items, and even cause reinforcement to rust or deteriorate. The reinforcement, being metal, need not be exposed to the elements, which is what concrete cover is for.

Salting to Remove Ice is Generally Fine

Salting to remove ice and snow is generally fine, but ideally you have a concrete sealer on your concrete driveway. Salt can also seep into concrete, causing fissures and cracks overtime as ice/snow process through what is known as a freeze-thaw process. Chemicals effectively can negatively effect the bonds in concrete, opening the door for even more issues, like scaling, flaking, and general deterioration. This includes chlorides from your typical driveway/sidewalk de-icing chemical.

How Salts & Moisture Effect Concrete

Some products can be bought which have less negative effect on your concrete items. Concrete elements have tiny air pockets that form during the curing process. These air pockets, even with fine finishing, allow the ingress of moisture.

Water and moisture that gets trapped in concrete with the salts can damage the reinforcement. If the moisture is not allowed to escape from the concrete, and freezing temperatures occur, this can cause freeze-thaw cracking.

Use a Concrete Sealer

A concrete sealer, like a surface acrylic or a penetrating sealer can help to reduce the effects of salt damaging a concrete element. These sealers are some products such as calcium chloride based de-icing chemicals can be even more harmful to concrete than sodium chloride based products.plied to both weatherproof the concrete, but can also protect the concrete from the effects of chloride. Sealers can also improve the aesthetic of a concrete patio, slab, or walkway.

Air Entrained Concrete

Air-entrained concrete is often used in cold climates to help reduce damage from moisture and even salts. Air entrained concrete allows for water to pass easily out of concrete elements and not get trapped. You will often find this type of concrete in northern climates.

What about calcium chloride?

Some products such as calcium chloride based de-icing chemicals can be even more harmful to concrete than sodium chloride based products. This product is chemically more aggressive, and more effective at removing ice/snow, but can be more corrosive than alternatives.