5 Regular Uses of Calcium Chloride

The world is a big, beautiful place that has always been filled with many puzzling issues and conundrums just itching to be solved. Over time, people have come to realize that some of the best answers to those riddles lies in nature, and how we use natural elements to our favour.

For instance, the ionic compound known as calcium chloride has many uses, from improving taste, to removing obstacles, and even to clean with! What are some specific ways that we use calcium chloride every day though? We will discuss five examples of how calcium chloride can be used to answer to some of the world’s biggest problems.

1. Icy Roads

Anyone who has driven on an icy road can tell you how harrowing an experience that can be. Well hidden ice can sneak up on even the most alert and careful of drivers, and that makes it incredibly dangerous to anyone having to brave the blacktop during rough conditions. Fortunately, road crews can cover the asphalt with calcium chloride, which begins to melt and break down the ice upon contact. It is pretty safe to say that calcium chloride has saved more than a few lives over the years.

2. In the Medical Field

While calcium chloride can help save lives in a more indirect manner, as mentioned above, it can also be incredibly helpful to anyone who comes into direct contact with it. Doctors can administer calcium chloride to patients who are suffering from high blood pressure during a blood transfusion. Calcium chloride can also be used to reduce internal acid burns in a person’s body. These are just two good examples of how calcium chloride can help in a medical venue, but of course there are many more benefits that using the compound can bring to a patient.

3. In Construction

Looking at a big, beautiful new building, you may find yourself asking exactly what goes into creating such an achievement of human ingenuity. You may be surprised to find out that calcium chloride plays a pretty big role in bringing those ambitions into reality. In concrete, calcium chloride is used as a key component that accelerates the setting of said concrete and helps measure the moisture within. Also, calcium chloride is used to control scaffolding, which is a pretty big factor of construction. The next time you look at an amazing skyscraper, you might just remember that calcium chloride played a big role in making it happen.

4. In the Pool

Many people love to swim, and one of the best places to do that is in the safety of a pool. Naturally, something like that requires quite a bit of care and maintenance, especially in regards to the water within the pool. Calcium chloride actually makes maintaining a pool much easier, which is a great thing on those hot days around the pool. Not only does calcium chloride improve the hardness of the water in the pool, but it also prevents erosion of the concrete that the pool itself is made of, and sustains the very foundation of said pool.

5. In Food

We all enjoy tasty food, right? Well, calcium chloride added to foods like canned vegetables or tofu give them a salty flavour that many people enjoy quite a bit. It also helps preserve those food, which is good, as food rotting prematurely is a truly terrible waste. Calcium chloride is also used to improve the flavour of sports drinks, candy bars, and many other sweet snacks, which is pretty sweet, in itself! Of course, calcium chloride is perfectly safe to use in foods and has been a trusted ingredient for quite some time, so that’s always good, too!