Replies

1. 
   JeffKurtz | Oct 03, 2002 06:38pm | #1

   Suzy,

   Seems like a waste of good alcohol, but....  I assume the drive way is asphalt; if so, won't the alcohol react with the asphalt (as would gasoline or other solvents) producing black "mush"?  I know for sure that the surface and cracks must be completely dry before sealing, or it simply won't adhere to the existing surface.  I'd wait a day or two.

   Jeff

1. 
   suzy | Oct 03, 2002 07:28pm | #3

   hi, jeff.  yeah, but i am using the kind that you cannot drink.  from the drug store.   i am pretty sure that the alcohol is not as good a solvent as gasoline, etc.  that was what i am trying to determine.  thanks for your reply!!

1. 
   BenM | Oct 03, 2002 08:00pm | #5

   Blow out the water with your compressor.

1. 
   suzy | Oct 03, 2002 08:08pm | #7

   hi, ben.  wish that i HAD a compressor.  i am considering going out with my hair dryer, tho.  but i have a home office, and i am supposed to be working today, so i am reluctant to do that.  thanks

2. 
   forestgirl | Oct 03, 2002 06:42pm | #2

   Suzy, run real quick over to Breaktime (Fine Homebuilding) and post your question.  They'll help you out!

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   RSRose | Oct 03, 2002 07:37pm | #4

   Suzy,

   You're misunderstanding the action of alcohol. It does NOT displace water. It is completely miscible with water. Water and alcohol will form a solution (completely mix with each other) in any ratios.

   Alcohol is commonly used to remove water in laboratory settings (and other situations) because it DOES mix with water, not displace. For instance if a biolgical tissue section (mostly water) is immersed in an alcohol bath, the water will mix with the alcohol, migrating out into the larger volume of alcohol, leaving an alcohol/water mix in the tissue containing a very small % of water. The tissue is then put through successive alcohol baths which draw more and more water out, until it's gone and only alcohol is in the tissue, which is then evaporated.

   Or, a glass beaker contains water drops which can't be easily shaken out. Pour in a volume of alcohol which is quite a bit larger than the amount of water in the glass, swirl it around, pulling the water into the alcohol and pour out the mixture. Whatever infinitesimal amount of water and alcohol remain, quickly evaporate.

   Those processes are different from the way you expect the alcohol to dry your driveway. Why not wait for the sun to dry it?

   Rich

1. 
   suzy | Oct 03, 2002 08:07pm | #6

   hi, rich.  you are right, and i was oversimplifying.  but even an alcohol-water mixture is more volatile and will evaparate faster than just water sitting in the crack.  the problem IS the sun.  it is october,the sun is not that strong, and the driveway does not get that much sun, anyway.  if it were july, the heat of the day would help evaporate the liquid, but it is only about 65 degrees out.  thaks

1. 
   RSRose | Oct 03, 2002 08:22pm | #9

   Suzy,

   Well, an alcohol water mixture wont evaporate faster, but if you keep pouring alcohol into the cracks, the alcohol water mixture will probably leak into the ground, and you'll eventually have almost all alcohol in the cracks, which then WILL evaporate faster. I've asked several self professed experts (like myself!) and we all conclude, having no credentials to do so at all, that the alcohol will not hurt the driveway.

   Another solution is to move to a warmer climate. Aren't you glad you asked this here?

   Have fun. Get that driveway sealed before the really cold weather.

   Rich

1. 
   suzy | Oct 03, 2002 08:54pm | #11

   well, somewhere betweenthe first posting and your message, i did pour the alcohol in, and it seemed to do no harm.  would you believe that it now looks like rain!!  drat.

   yes, a warmer climate would be good

1. 
   RSRose | Oct 03, 2002 09:52pm | #16

   Suzy,

   You just about garonteed rain by your actions. It'll probably now rain for a week straight!

   Here's whatcha do. Forget your intent to get alcohol that you can't drink. Get alcohol that you CAN drink. Drink it. Forget about the driveway!

   Rich

   Edited 10/3/2002 2:54:33 PM ET by Rich Rose

2. 
   UncleDunc | Oct 03, 2002 09:01pm | #13

   >> ... an alcohol water mixture wont evaporate faster ...

   Are you saying that a 50% alcohol solution evaporates at the same rate as a 0% alcohol solution? I wouldn't necessarily expect a linear relationship, but I strongly doubt that evaporation rate over alcohol concentration is a step function.

1. 
   RSRose | Oct 03, 2002 09:50pm | #15

   Unc,

   Let's drop it, variables of this situation are impossible to know. What I meant was that if you have water on a surface, then pour alcohol on the surface with the water, the surface won't dry faster (of both water and alcohol) than if you had allowed the water alone to evaporate.

   Rich

2. 
   UncleDunc | Oct 03, 2002 10:21pm | #17

   Oh! Well, that makes sense. Hurts my heart to have to agree with you. :)

3. 
   RSRose | Oct 03, 2002 10:37pm | #18

   Have a cold one on me. Down it before it evaporates!

   Rich

4. 
   suzy | Oct 03, 2002 11:02pm | #19

   you guys are ALL too much.  you have put the sunshine into my day.   it turned out that it did not rain after all, i am not sure that the cracks/craters are dry enough for the filler, but it has been fun.  thanks for all the messages.   [i may try to fill them in after dinner-will think about it and make a decision.  ]suzyt

4. 
   jeffn7 | Oct 03, 2002 08:19pm | #8

   do you have a blower for cleaning up yard debris? If so, that's been a quick method for me to dry off my deck.

1. 
   suzy | Oct 03, 2002 08:51pm | #10

   nope, i do that manually.  good for the muscles.  sometimes, i wish that i did have one, but i am resisting.  thanks, susan

5. 
   bodier | Oct 03, 2002 08:59pm | #12

   Rubbing alcohol already has a substantial amount of water in it, so you really need "dry" alcohol, which is going to be expensive.  As has been said, best bet is to blow dry the cracks.  Maybe a neighbor has a portable compressor you could borrow.

   HTH

   Jim
6. 
   bill_1010 | Oct 03, 2002 09:40pm | #14

   head a a rental house and rent a backpack blower or compressor.  Or hope the sun gets really hot and helps speed up evaporation