Homemade De-icer

A while back I saw a posting with a helpful hint about preventing ice from forming on sidewalks.  It said if you mix one tablespoon of rubbing alcohol, one teaspoon of Dawn dish soap and a half gallon of water, you could get a great de-icer.  I thought I would try.  So before one of our big snow and ice events, I mixed some up.  I poured the solution on a small part of our sidewalk.  To my amazement, the ice on the treated area was easily shoveled off and the rest of the sidewalk will need to melt in the spring.  I guess it works, even after repeated snowfalls.  I only treated a small part of the sidewalk once just to experiment.  I will treat the whole sidewalk next year, if I remember.  I did apply before the snow fell, so I don't know if it removes existing ice.  I heard that it does.  I guess a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol works on the windshield ice also.  I have never tried it because we have a garage, but it might make sense and worth a try.  It may be easier than scraping. 

 No ice on the treated section.

Here is how much ice is on the remaining part of the sidewalk.