The liquid seeps into the pores of the asphalt
street, driveway or sidewalk and prevents black
ice from forming as well as snow from bonding
to the pavement. The result is a clear surface
that looks like summer. Hancock calls it ''June
pavement.''
The liquid consists of magnesium chloride and
a vegetable agricultural byproduct, generally
from distilleries. Hancock said it originated
in Eastern Europe, where a distiller was trying
to find a market for the waste from his alcohol
production. He patented his idea and exported
it.
Hancock said he knew that area public works departments
were using Liquid Magic, but he didn't know how
to get some himself. ''It's like a secret,'' he
said. ''Consumers don't know about it.''
Then, a couple of years ago, one of the employees
of Brockway-Smith, a Hatfield company for whom
Hancock plows the parking lots, saw a booth at
a trade show and linked Hancock to John Oakes
of Taconic Maintenance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Oakes
arranged for Hancock to try out Liquid Magic last
year.
Hancock used the anti-icing liquid on the parking
lots he plows at condominiums like Amity Place
in Amherst and The Gables and Pheasant Hill in
Northampton. He also used it on commercial parking
lots and for his 300 residential customers. Now
he is an official distributor, and he is selling
the product to other landscape contractors as
well as to organizations like Cooley Dickinson
Hospital in Northampton.
''We proved that stuff works and works well,''
Hancock said.
'We want to be on the leading edge,'' he added.
So, in addition to becoming the area distributor
for landscape contractors, Hancock has also managed
to get small bags of the granular Magic Salt to
be available to homeowners at stores like the
Cook Builder's Supply Co. in Easthampton and West
Springfield and Agway in Greenfield. Magic Salt
sells for $14.99 for a 50-pound bag, he said.
Magic Salt is the same product as Liquid Magic,
only in granular form, and it can be applied in
place of sodium chloride-treated sand after a
storm. The magnesium chloride lowers the temperature
at which snow will melt and thus hastens melt
below freezing.
One gallon of the liquid will cover 2,000 square
feet, Hancock said. It will last on the driveway
or sidewalk between storms, not washing away like
regular sodium chloride or sand that clogs sewer
drains.
For the homeowner who hires a contractor using
Liquid Magic or chooses to use Magic Salt for
sidewalks, a definite benefit is evident in the
spring: Lawns edging driveways, streets and sidewalks
won't turn brown, Hancock said.
''It's environmentally friendly,'' he said.
Sand has also been a problem for highway superintendents,
landscape contractors and homeowners. All have
relied on treated sand to reduce slippery conditions,
including black ice. ''There is just way too much
sand being used,'' Hancock said.
The problem is that the sand has to be swept
up in the springtime, a costly operation. Also,
sand treated with sodium chloride builds up on
lawn edges over the winter and kills the grass
come spring.
Not so with the magnesium chloride solution, Hancock
maintains. ''I sprayed it on my lawn last spring
and it greened it up,'' he said.
Hancock's customers say they have been happy
with Liquid Magic. ''The lack of sand for us has
been the biggest benefit,'' said Jamie Cherewatti,
president of Eaglecrest Property Management in
Amherst. Hancock tested Liquid Magic last year
at Salem Place, which is among the 12 condominium
complexes managed by Cherewatti.
''He only used it for half of the winter last
year,'' Cherewatti said. ''This winter is the
big rollout.''
Ask your snowplow contractor if he or she is
using Liquid Magic, and consider using Magic Salt
instead of treated sand on your sidewalks. |
