Tacoma Potassium Chloride Application
Potassium chloride application offers a chloride deicer choice for properties avoiding sodium near sensitive plantings and turf.
Washington Snow Removal applies potassium chloride to walks, lots and entries in Tacoma, Pierce County. Potassium chloride is a deicer used to melt ice and keep thin snow from bonding to pavement. We are licensed, bonded and insured, and we dispatch from our Bothell yard, 73 minutes away.
Tacoma gets an average of 5.6 in of snow per season. Most of the trouble comes from thin snow and freezing nights, not deep storms. Call 206-809-9669 to talk through your property.
How often Tacoma pavement freezes
Average snowfall by month in Tacoma
Recent winter events logged for the Tacoma area
- Dec 26, 2021: Heavy Snow
- Feb 12, 2021: Winter Storm
- Feb 8, 2019: Heavy Snow
- Feb 8, 2014: Heavy Snow
Sources: NOAA and National Weather Service records for Tacoma, 2005–2026.
Potassium Chloride Application at Tacoma Properties
Tacoma sees only 1.6 days a year with 1 in or more of snow. But there are 31 freezing nights between October and April, and about 3.05 light-snow days a year that need deicing. Those thin events leave ice on shaded walks, ramps and parking lot edges. That is where a deicer does its work.
Recent events in the Tacoma area show how it varies. The logged events include Heavy Snow on Dec 26, 2021, a Winter Storm on Feb 12, 2021, and Heavy Snow on Feb 8, 2019 and Feb 8, 2014. Two ice storm reports have been logged since 2005.
Tacoma code (TMC 9.16.050) makes the person in charge of a property responsible for clearing the public walk in front of it. The deadline is 24 hours. Treating walks early helps you meet that duty.
What a visit involves:
- Walking the property to find entries, ramps, stairs and low spots where ice forms
- Applying the product to walks, lots and drive lanes
- Hand work on sidewalks where a spreader truck cannot reach
Pricing is listed up front. Bulk salt applied is $300 / ton, and bagged ice melt is $45 / 50 lb bag. A crew member for hand work is $110 / person-hour. The trip charge for Tacoma (zone C) is $350 / dispatch, with a 2-hour minimum per dispatch.
Prices in Tacoma
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 Tacoma (zone C) | $350 / dispatch |
- 2-hour minimum per dispatch.
- Tacoma is 73 minutes from our Bothell yard.
Prices approved Oct 2026.
Service Area
Tacoma
Benefits
Avoids the sodium load that damages salt-sensitive turf and shrubs; Suits properties with wells or organic-certified landscaping; Blends effectively with sand on colder mornings; Matches the mild ice events common in the Puget Sound lowlands
