Anything used to melt the ice is considered to be a deicer or icemelter. It does not matter what the material composition is or what format it comes in. It can be in variety of solid formats, such as:, granular, flakes, pellets, pearls, powder or even in a liquid format.

Icemelters help to remove ice by breaking it down into smaller chunks, and into a liquid. They work by lowering the freezing point of water below the outside temperature. The ice will then melt, thereby breaking down the molecular structure of the ice. A thin layer of “brine” forms over the ice, as the icemelter begins to work, and the icemelter dissolves into this liquid. This “brine” then continues to break down the ice.