What does salt do? The science of gritting

With frost frequenting our roads amidst the cold weather, we thought it was time to take a look at what exactly gritting the roads does.

Although we often refer to it as gritting, there is usually little grit involved, and instead mined rock salt is used. Salting the roads is primarily a preventative technique, and works most effectively via three main methods:

Salt is most commonly used because it is what we call hygroscopic. It acts like a magnet by drawing in and absorbing moisture from the air and the road surface, to the granules.

If the air is too dry, or it hasn't rained recently, salt can be pre-wetted. It also needs a flow of traffic to be worked into the road properly. And if there is no moisture present, the salt won't be absorbed and thus won't do its job.

Salt can also be ineffective at particularly low temperatures, so if you live somewhere like the Scottish Highlands, then it's likely that a mix of salt and grit will be used.

Other alternatives aside from salt include molasses, although depending on where you live, can often get licked up by sheep, which is a road hazard in itself!

Each year new names are unveiled for council's gritter lorries, with this year featuring David Plowie, Salt Disney, Sled Zeppelin and Sleetwood Mac.