(WHDH) — One town has found a new use for vodka and it involves keeping roads safe during the winter.
Springfield Township is using the alcoholic beverage to treat icy roads. The town’s public works department is using a vodka-based solution called “Ice B’Gone Magic,” according to Fox 19.
“It’s a byproduct of vodka. Many people consider it like a vodka mix and then we found out that it is the one product that has been approved by the EPA,” Director of Infrastructure Michael Gould told the news station.
Despite that fact that the vodka solution is more costly than regular rock salt, it has still helped the town save money.
Ice B’Gone Magic is mixed with salt brine. Gould says the brine and vodka solution “coats the salt,” allowing plow drivers to “cut down” on how much salt they use on the roads.
Gould says the mixture “bonds to the pavement,” in turn helping to save on labor and fuel costs.
The one downside to the new technique? Gould says the solution gives off an odd smell.
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