On 2015-03-10 11:21 PM, Tyler B. wrote:
On 3/9/2015 4:32 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
I mean the stuff that our state uses on highways: big, irregular
yellowish crystals. They always seem to be slightly wet.

I come away from Googling with the impression that as long as the
humidity is over 75%, road salt will be absorbing water.

I've got a couple of 5-gallon buckets of it that I am saving for next
winter and wonder if it is worth leaving the buckets uncovered for a few
weeks of lower-humidity weather in hopes of drying it out.

Does the stuff dry out? Or is the water adsorption a one-way street?


Keep it under roof, like a shed or garage. If it's already wet, chances
are it will be a huge clump.

Your State may be using Moroccan salt. Some States barged over hundreds
of thousands of tons, since a shortage was anticipated. Most if not all
States spec out their salt size, but this salt from Morocco is huge. I
just hauled some Moroccan salt from the Great Lakes area, even tho there
are salt mines under the lakes! I did notice the salt appeared to wet.
And no, it's not supposed to be wet, that is what activates it. That's
another subject, but trucks have a pre-wetting system on them, which can
be filled with brine/beet juice/ or calcium. There's a whole slew of
new liquid products on the market for pre-wetting.

The pre-wetting is just so the salt doesn't bounce around as much. In
Ontario, the provincial system no longer uses pre-wet, since we assume
the roads are wet with snow or frozen rain when the salt is dropped.