De-icers, or reactive winter road treatments, are liquid forms of salt compounds used to break the bond of already existing snow and ice. They dissolve downward and penetrate until they reach the pavement. They then fan outward to undercut and disbond the snow from the pavement surface. De-icers melt the ice and snow so they may be easily removed by mechanical means such as plows and are not necessarily intended to clear every bit of ice and snow on the road.

Both anti-icers and de-icers are winter road treatments that work as freezing-point depressants and are the most desirable way to treat winter weather roads.

CDOT utilizes a variety of products and techniques in differing combinations including plowing and spreading sand and salt, as well as liquid salt compounds such as magnesium chloride, M1000 Caliber and Ice Slicer ™ Granular Ice Melt, to keep winter roadways safe. The liquid treatments most commonly used in Colorado -- Magnesium Chloride and M1000 Caliber -- are made from a naturally occurring element that is extracted from saltwater solutions; most commonly Utah's Great Salt Lake. To extract the magnesium chloride brine, water is removed from the salt water by solar evaporation or other forms of energy, and a simple refinement process, until elements have been extracted resulting in magnesium chloride brine.