Is the safer ice melt made of Magnesium chloride the same products as bath salts. ?

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jeanw

jeanw

Feeling the Heat
Hearth Supporter
Sep 23, 2008
389
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Like the kind that looks like Epsom salts and can be used for baths. Like the Dr on a radio program recommended magnesium chloride for soaking baths or your whirlpool soak being a better product. A 1 1/2 ib.of magnesium chloride is way over $12....... from a health source store
so is it the same product as my ice melt. ?????? I bought years ago? It says its pet safe etc. says on the big shaker container. So are there really Rx grades etc of Mg chloride.. Thanks all
 
A quick google search shows that "pet safe" ice melt could contain anything; propylene glycol, urea, carbonyl diamide, carbamide resin, magnesium chloride, or calcium chloride.

There's no way in the world I'd be taking a bath in that stuff, go to the store and pay $12 for actual magnesium chloride.
 
the label just says mag chloride its "safe step 8300". bought it sev yrs ago on clearance. 8 ib. canister but unfortunately I did write down on the canister the clearance price.
 
The health store is one of the most expensive places to buy things. My local Walgreens shows common epsom salt $3 for 6 lbs.
 
I bought a 40 lbs or so bag of some "anti dust" thing they apparently use on big construction sites to avoid dust.
Turns out it's just CaCl. So that's why I bought it - for the steps to my front door. Works like a charm.

Similar with pool chemicals, most of that is simple chemicals (e.g. sodium bicarbonate) that you can buy in bulk elsewhere for about 1/10 the price of the "real" pool or ice melt chemicals.
 
If it's 100% mag chloride then its probably the same mag chloride that you buy in the bath section. Problem is, how can you know? Products listed for human use normally under go more testing to insure purity than others intended to be put down on the road. That may not hold true for safe step since they do advertise as pet safe. In any event, mag chloride is mag chloride. Epsom salts are mag sulfate.
 
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