Snow, a beautiful weather occurrence that can produce picturesque landscapes and serene evenings. However, there is a counterpart to everything in life, and one of the downsides of snow is the inevitable snow melt. Those who live in areas prone to snowfall are not strangers to this and the potentially damaging water runoff that comes along with snow melt.
As of January 16th of this year, 43.1% of the area of the United States had snow cover. This is up from 37.8% last month. Since there is no way to stop the weather, and it looks like we are kicking off 2016 with a lot of snow, learning ways to help prevent water runoff from snow melt will be beneficial for you and the preservation of your garage.
How it Hurts
Snow melt, and subsequent standing water, on your garage floor can turn into slippery ice patches overnight in freezing conditions. The last thing you want to do when trying to head out to work in the morning is worry about how strong your ice skating skills are just to get to your car.
Don’t let you garage floor get to the point
where you need to keep a pair of these nearby!
More serious issues can arise from water runoff in a garage. Most garages have a concrete floor in place, which can have small pockets or tiny cracks in it that might not even be noticeable. However, standing water that gets into concrete can break down the concrete over time, causing damages. When water freezes into ice, it expands approximately 9%. This expansion can cause the concrete to be pushed outward instead of being broken down, resulting in major cracking, or even produce seams in walls and ceilings.
How to Help
The first preventative measure you can take is utilize an ice brush before even pulling into your garage. Brushing off any excess snow that could be caught in windshield wipers, behind mirrors, or on the hood can greatly reduce the amount of runoff to your garage floor.
It only takes a few moments to brush of your car, and
could save you lots of time with repairs in the future.
If there is a fair amount of water runoff that appears on your floor, try to squeegee out as much as you can before it has a chance to freeze over. On super chilly days, simply crack your garage door open just enough that you can push the water out.
Try to make sure to get any standing water out,
don’t worry as much about making the floor completely dry.
Another solution is to use floor mats to help cover areas that would get snow melt from your vehicle. A cheaper alternative idea would be to use flattened cardboard boxes to help absorb water runoff. Keep in mind that the cardboard boxes would need to be changed out fairly often to be effective.
There are plenty more ways to combat snow melt, and we are here to help!
Contact us for more ideas and solutions that fit your needs.
