White or brown rock salt
Updated: 23 October 2026
The two bags look like different products. One is white and one is the colour of a wet path. White or brown rock salt, in this set, is the same job with a different amount of dirt. You are choosing the mess you will walk indoors, not a different de-icer. The twelve bags are in the [road salt comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/road-salt). The Products Compared editorial team updated this on 22 October 2026. We did not measure dirt in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
The two bags look like different products. One is white and one is the colour of a wet path. White or brown rock salt, in this set, is the same job with a different amount of dirt.
The two bags look like different products. One is white and one is the colour of a wet path. White or brown rock salt, in this set, is the same job with a different amount of dirt. You are choosing the mess you will walk indoors, not a different de-icer. The twelve bags are in the road salt comparison. The Products Compared editorial team updated this on 22 October 2026. We did not measure dirt in a lab. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Colour printed | Job on the title | BS 3247 line | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Darlies Darlies brown de-icing salt, 23 kg | Brown | Ice and snow | No | 9.2 | about £17.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Zoutman Zoutman de-icing salt, 25 kg | Not printed | Roads and paths | No | 9.0 | about £16.90 | View offer |
| Best value |  Peacock Salt Peacock white de-icing salt, 10 kg | White | De-icing and weeds | Yes, BS 3247:2011 | 8.8 | about £8.95 | View offer |
On this page
Same job, different dirt
White salt and brown salt both lower the freezing point of water. The crystal is sodium chloride. Colour is not a second chemical and not a melting temperature. These captures do not print a low-temperature figure, so do not copy one from a seller page onto these bags.
What changes is the dirt. Brown mined salt is the messier bulk option. White salt is sold where residue would be walked into a hall. Peacock, comparing its white salt with generic UK brown grit, says brown grit can be about 5 to 7.5 per cent dirt and its white salt under 0.15 per cent, with brown dust up to 20 per cent and white dust under 5 per cent. That is Peacock’s comparison, not a test of the other brands. NWSRG’s 7.5 per cent insolubles cap is for salt bought to BS 3247, not a lab result for these brown bags.
A white bag used by the kilo on concrete is still chloride. That limit is on road salt on driveways.
What brown grit usually is
Brown grit, on these titles, means rock salt, not a bag of sharp sand. Sand and ash add grip and do not melt ice. Brown rock salt still melts ice, and it often carries marl from the seam, which is what marks a floor. Salt Giant suggests brown where grip on tarmac matters and white on block paving and at doorways. That is stocking advice, not a test of the Darlies or Laeto sacks.
Darlies brown, 23 kg on the title, is the large brown de-icing bag here. Reviews say it melts ice quickly and that it is messy indoors. Laeto’s brown bags are weed-killer titles. A review says the salt kills the soil as well as the weeds. That is what salt on soil does, not a property of the brown colour.
What these bags print
White on the listing, in this set, is Darlies 25 kg (B00AHZER98), Peacock 25 kg (B003EKFAHG), Peacock 10 kg (B08H5CZ2LP), Peacock 20 kg (B008RKJRT0), Laeto 20 kg (B08TRN1QJC), Laeto 10 kg (B08TRRCWVV), Laeto 15 kg (B0FVGHJ8HG) and Munnie 10 kg (B0FS29XSV8). The three Laeto white bags are weed-killer titles and share one review file, including a white order that arrived brown. Check the sack.
Brown on the listing is Laeto 20 kg (B0BP89VW6G), Laeto 10 kg (B0DHCVP1YL) and Darlies 23 kg (B00AHYTYII). Darlies is the de-icing title, with 787 reviews. Zoutman 25 kg (B07G5H5PDD) prints no colour. Reviews describe white salt with little sand. A ranking of the white bags is on best road salt.
When the colour does not decide it
A white bag is not a BS 3247 bag. Only the three Peacock listings print conformity to BS 3247:2011, and those three happen to be white. Darlies, Laeto and Munnie do not print the line, and brown Darlies does not either. If the standard is your condition, you are choosing among three Peacock sizes. If it is not, colour is a mess decision.
A white bag is not a concrete clearance. One Zoutman reviewer believes white salt spares concrete. The listing does not say that, and the Concrete Society does not excuse white salt. A white weed-killer bag and a white de-icing bag are not the same promise.
Common questions
Does white salt melt ice better than brown?
No. Both are sodium chloride, and both lower the freezing point of water. Nothing in these amazon.co.uk captures shows a different melting point. Leave a seller’s low-temperature figure on that seller’s page. What you gain with white is less dirt, on Peacock’s own comparison, not a stronger de-icer.
Why is brown salt messier?
Brown rock salt still carries dirt from the mine. Peacock says generic UK brown grit can be about 5 to 7.5 per cent dirt, against under 0.15 per cent for its white salt. Those figures are Peacock’s, not a test of every brown bag here. Darlies buyers still call the brown sack messy indoors.
Is brown grit sand?
No. In these titles, brown grit means rock salt, often with marl, not sharp sand. Sand and ash give grip and do not melt ice. Brown rock salt does melt ice, and it marks floors more readily. Read the rest of the title before you assume you have bought sand.
Which bags in this set are white, and which are brown?
White on the listing: Darlies 25 kg, three Peacock sizes, three Laeto weed-killer sizes and Munnie 10 kg. Brown: Darlies 23 kg and the two Laeto brown bags. Zoutman prints no colour, and reviews call it white. A shared Laeto review says a white order arrived brown, so check the sack when it arrives.
What if the listing does not print a colour?
Say so. Zoutman 25 kg is the bag in this set with a blank colour cell. Reviewers describe white crystals and little sand. That is a review, not a spec line. Darlies white is the bag that prints the colour. If residue indoors is the point, a listing that names white is the clearer buy.
Do Peacock’s dirt percentages apply to Darlies and Laeto?
No. Peacock published them as a comparison between its white salt and typical UK brown grit. They are not measurements of the Darlies brown sack, the Laeto brown sacks or the other white brands. Use them to understand why white is sold as cleaner. Use the reviews on each ASIN for what buyers of that bag found on the floor.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 23 October 2026.
- BSI BS 3247:2011+A1:2016 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Highways Act 1980 section 41 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: clear snow from a road, path or cycleway (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- HSE: slips and trips FAQ (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- National Highways: winter driving (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- RSPCA: poisoning (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Concrete Society: de-icing salts (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- NWSRG: spreading salt (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Peacock Salt: brown salt versus white salt (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Met Office: weather-ready tips for snow and ice (retrieved 23 October 2026)