ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — When winter hits Rochester, de-icing planes becomes even more important to ensure smooth and safe takeoffs. Now, what a lot of people don't realize is that there are actually two steps required to de-ice a plane, as well as two different kinds of fluids: type one fluid and type four fluid. “The first step would be the deicing that they use type one fluid and it’s typically a mixture of glycol and water. It’s heated so it melts the snow and melts the ice,” said Andy Moore, the airport director at the Fredrick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport. “And then after that, they’ll move to anti-icing, which is type four. That’s the green spray where type one is the orange spray. So, the green spray, type four, is the anti-icing.” The airport itself isn’t in charge of the de-icing process. It’s actually managed by the pilots and private companies. “The process is very simple. The pilots will recognize that there’s some kind of containment on the plane, whether it’s freezing rain, sleet, snow, whatever it is and they’ll communicate with one of the fixed operators," Moore said. “They will move that aircraft to one of the two deicing pads that we have here on the commercial side of the airport. And then those companies will then de-ice the plane collectively.”  After a plane is de-iced, vacuum trucks move in to clean the pads, helping to minimize environmental impact. “They will go around after the deicing is done and basically vacuum up, suck up, all that glycol that’s on the ramp. And then they’ll go and dump that in a storage facility here at the airport. And then ultimately, that glycol fluid gets sent to the Van Lare Treatment Plant for treatment,” said Moore. This FAA-approved process undergoes regular inspections to ensure safety and compliance.