Keeping You Moving. Beyond Expectations.
Magnesium chloride application melts ice at lower temperatures while being gentler on concrete, plants, and pets than rock salt.
Magnesium chloride is a liquid or granular de-icer. It works at lower temperatures than plain rock salt and helps stop ice from bonding to pavement. Washington Snow Removal applies it to driveways, lots and walkways in Roy, Pierce County. We are based in Bothell, WA, and we are licensed, bonded and insured.
Roy does not get much snow. Average snowfall is 6.2 in per season, and only 1.8 days a year bring 1 in or more. But there are 42 freezing nights from Oct to Apr, and ice is the bigger risk here. Call 206-809-9669 to talk through your property.
Sources: NOAA and National Weather Service records for Roy, 2005–2026.
Magnesium chloride is most useful when it goes down before ice forms. We apply it to the surface you need to keep clear, such as a parking lot, entry drive, ramp or sidewalk. It lowers the freezing point of moisture on the pavement, so frost and thin ice are less likely to lock onto it.
Roy's pattern shapes how this works. Only 1.1 days a year stay below freezing all day, and snow sits on the ground about 4 days a year. Most of the trouble comes from freezing nights, 42 of them from Oct to Apr, when wet pavement refreezes. The area has also seen real events. Heavy snow was logged on Jan 18, 2012, Feb 5, 2017 and Feb 8, 2019. An ice storm followed on Dec 23, 2022. Two ice storm reports have been logged since 2005.
That is why timing matters more than volume. Here is what we price for a visit:
There is a 2-hour minimum per dispatch. Roy is 104 minutes from our Bothell yard, so plan applications ahead of a forecast freeze rather than after ice has formed.
Billed by the hour for the crew and equipment on site, plus materials.
| Plow and spreader truck with driver (Ram 5500) | $325 / hour |
| Ice melt, bagged | $45 / 50 lb bag |
| Bulk salt, applied | $300 / ton |
| Crew member (shoveling, sidewalks, hand work) | $110 / person-hour |
| Trip charge for Roy (zone D) | $525 / dispatch |
Prices approved Oct 2026.
Melts ice at colder temperatures than rock salt; Gentler on concrete, landscaping, and pet paws; Attracts moisture to keep working through long freezes; Available as flake or brine for flexible coverage