The Common Mistakes of Salting the Parking Lot

2/24/2021 (Permalink)

Often when there’s snow, there’s ice. Because of this, salting the driveway and your share of the sidewalks has become the partner to routine shoveling. Especially at your business where your employees and customers park, it’s vitally important that they are able to walk to your business without fear of slipping on ice. While salting is a normal part of winter for most, there are still some common mistakes that pop up when salting a bigger area such as your company parking lot. Earth Development has a helpful list of the most common mistakes businesses make when dealing with the ice in their parking lots;

• Do not use only rock salt. It works very well after a storm coats your parking lot in ice, but it still takes time to melt. A layer of magnesium chloride laid down before a storm will keep the snow and ice from sticking to your parking lot in the first place, keeping it safe before, during, and after the storm.
• Do not use your cleaning ingredients incorrectly. Rock salt should be used sparingly and only when the temperature is above freezing. Magnesium Chloride meanwhile should be applied to the ground sparingly before the snow and ice arrive, producing a protective layer over your parking lot.
• Do not overuse the products. Both rock salt and magnesium chloride can be harmful to the environment if used in excess. The chemicals melt into the snow and into the sewers, leading to local rivers and lakes. So be sure to only use when needed and sparingly.
• Do not apply the products before shoveling snow away. While salt’s job is to melt, the fact is that the amount of salt you would have to buy to melt even a small parking lot is much too high. In addition there’s the problem of the chemicals melting into the water and sewers. Shoveling away as much as you can before adding salt is still an essential step.
• Do not mix sand and rock salt. Even if it might seem like a good idea, two products are not better than one in this situation.  A mix of rock salt and sand will only dilute each other, rendering both less effective. Rock salt is the more effective of the two and sand should only be used as a last resort.

Remember these tips the next time you’re going to clean out your snow covered parking lot. We know you want your customers and employees to be as safe as they can be when coming into and leaving work each day. So take care of the ground they walk on and properly salt your business’s parking lots and sidewalks. After all, no one wants to twist their ankle coming into work.

Source: www.earthdevelopmentinc.com

As always, if disaster strikes, SERVPRO of Springfield and SERVPRO of Morgan, Cass, Macoupin & Montgomery Counties are always here for you. We can be reached 24/7 at 217-528-7775.