How Much Will Driveway Salt Affect My Lawn?

Lawn Care service in Algonquin and Crystal Lake Illinois can become a balance come spring after the snow melts and you’re left with a season of salt dumped on your driveway.

Because we active ourselves in snow removal, we understand how salt hurts your lawn.

Rock salt is commonly used to de ice driveways.  Road crews in Crystal Lake often use salt on the roadways, and this can all contribute to hurting your lawn come spring 2019.

The Moisture Your Lawn Needs

Salt kills moisture. It pulls it from the grass, the soil, the roots and simply drowns your grass with a lack of water.  No one likes dehydration.  The salt will make your grass brown.

The Toxic Environment

When salt is dissolved, it separates into the basic ions.  These sodium ions block the roots from getting nutrients.  It needs calcium, potassium and magnesium.  Just like your body.  Too much salt is bad!

The Winter Lifecycle

Fertilizer is primarily salt, it is actually food for plants.  The soil does already contain salt, so a little bit of rock salt on your lawn won’t hurt it.  But large amounts dumped in one season could harm your grass for years.  Salt will get leached away with heavy rain.  Give your lawn good soakings come spring.

Solutions for Green Grass on your Lawn

You can’t control the city of Crystal Lake or Village of Algonquin and their salt control, but you can protect those areas near the road by installing snow or solt fencing.  It blocks much of the salt, keeping it away from your lawn.  Some use plastic sheeting to cover parts of their lawn.  Or use beet juice on your driveway!

Make sure you water your lawn a lot in spring, to leach away that lingering salt.  After the flush, fertilize your lawn to get the salt levels to an even appropriate level.