APPLYING DE-ICERS AS A SAFETY MEASURE
Winter brings along with it many cleaning concerns, for your staff and visitors, hazardous areas that they must navigate. An indispensable product that State Building Maintenance Limited will utilize during our winter months is ice melting crystals if your company requests it as part of our Janitorial Services. So whether you call them de-icers, anti-icers or ice melting granules, they are our workhorse when dealing with slippery driveways, sidewalks and entrances.
There are a number of products that can be used to stop ice from forming. On areas such as large parking lots, a spray, by truck, is the way most ice melting products are put down before a forecasted snowfall or an ice storm. For smaller areas, such as on sidewalks, crystals are usually spread about by using a spreader or by hand. If spread just before the ice or snow arrives these crystals will prevent ice from building up. Remember, more is not always better, sprinkle just what you need. Some de-icers are coloured so that you can see where you have spread these granules. These de-icers will not handle the melting of deep snow from a major snowfall. You would need to shovel off the snow and then scatter the crystals on your walks to melt what little is remaining.
Our southern Ontario temperatures do often hit minus -15 degrees Celsius or lower so our company generally uses a high performance snow and ice melting product that works with very low temperatures. As slush/moisture is created by these de-icer products it is advisable to shovel this off your sidewalks if you can before another freeze happens. You would then re-apply the de-icer. If we provide Porter and Nightly Cleaning Services / Janitorial Services we can offer this service twice a day if needed. Our product is a bit more expensive than some products and is an additional cost but State Building Maintenance Limited doesn’t want to take any chances with your safety. But if you have another product in mind we will gladly work with your preference.
There are a number of different chemicals that we can supply, each with their own pros and cons. We can purchase anything from rock salt to calcium chloride and even in a pinch sand or kitty litter. There are some products that are even advertised as safe for pets so as to not irritate their paws.
The pros are obvious, the melting of ice and the added grip from the crystals when walking. But depending on your choice of crystal they can damage concrete, be harmful to your pets and your lawns if too much is used and these products can even rust iron or steal. So we just want to, once again, emphasis that more it not always better. Having said that, State Building Maintenance Limited wants your staff and visitors to remain safe during out blustery winter months, that is the bottom line. So without hesitation we recommend that these products be used as required.
There have been some winters where the product we generally use has been in short supply, so if you would like our company to spread these de-icers when the evening cleaning or when janitorial services are completed, please let us know so that we can stock up for your company.
State Building Maintenance Limited is a Full Service Cleaning and Janitorial company that will be only too happy to be of service to you. We will set up a cleaning program of your choice and within your budget, whether if for a bi-weekly, daily or even a yearly clean-up. WE DO IT ALL! So please call us at 416-247-1290 or email us at info@sbml.ca.
