Vodka, rum byproduct to flood Pingree Grove streets this winter

Pingree Grove Police Chief Carol Lussky's job is to keep the influence of alcohol off the roads.

Village President Wyman "Clint" Carey has other ideas.

Starting this winter, Pingree Grove workers will ward off snow and ice with Magic Minus Zero, a substance made from the byproducts of rum and vodka, then mixed with magnesium chloride.

It's a liquid that, once sprayed on the roads before a snowstorm, promises to melt snow and ice up to -35 degrees Fahrenheit, said Ed Mondry, a representative of product distributor Building Maintenance System, Inc.

The brown substance, which looks and smells like soy sauce, can remain on pavement for up to two weeks and reactivates once there is snow or ice on the ground.

"Once this liquid's down, it's almost impossible for the snow to refreeze to the pavement," said Pat Doherty, director of the village's public works department. "It almost sounds to good to be true."

Yet it's the green and cost-saving aspects that have Pingree Grove officials the most excited.

The nontoxic, biodegradable liquid won't corrode equipment or roads, destroy carpeting and flooring, or kill plants as rapidly as rock salt does, Mondry said.

That's because its corrosion index is lower than distilled water. It washes out with water and won't harm humans or animals.

"We're going to go about snow plowing from a different angle," Carey said. "I think this is the smart way for the village to go."

Magic Minus Zero is common in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Mondry said, but relatively new to Illinois. Pingree Grove may be the only town in the state that's signed on to use it, he said.

The village has already ordered 4,200 gallons of the liquid at $3 a gallon, Doherty said. It is expected to arrive in town next week.

That beats shelling out $120 or more for every ton for rock salt. Last year, Pingree Grove bought 250 tons.

"Salt's gone up so much, it's so hard to get and I don't see it getting any easier," Carey said. "So why not change the way we work?"

When combined with rock salt, Magic Minus Zero melts snow and ice much faster than salt alone, Mondry said.

That means workers also won't need to use as much of it on the roads, allowing them to hang onto more salt.

Still, with the liquid's roots in vodka and rum - two key ingredients in a Long Island Iced Tea - one might think that come winter, Pingree Grove will smell like a tavern.

Carey says that won't happen on his watch.

"Our streets won't smell like a distillery, I promise our residents," he quipped.