A comprehensive floor care plan is essential year-round, but especially during winter. While ice melt can reduce slip-and-fall accidents and floor matting can stop a significant amount of debris and moisture from being tracked into your facility, your floor care plan can’t stop there. Snow, ice, slush and ice melt can still make their way into your building, doing damage to your floors and leaving behind an unsightly residue.
Understanding Ice Melt Residue
Sodium chloride is a common component of many ice melts. Also known as “rock salt,” it gets the job done but can leave behind a hazy residue that is unattractive and can even damage floor finish. This residue must be removed to keep your floors protected and looking their best all winter long.
Remove Ice Melt and Salt Residue from Floors
The first step toward removing residue is to remove your floor mats. While we recommend an entry matting system for every facility to trap salts, ice melt, soils and moisture, some ice melt residue may be tracked beyond your matting system, where it can seep under the mat. Trying to clean around the mats can set you up for future damage if water seeps underneath the mat, so remove yours before going forward with the cleaning process.
Next, sweep and vacuum to remove any debris and chunks of ice melt.
Finally, apply a floor neutralizer with a floor scrubber or mop and bucket. These solutions effectively remove residues like ice melt chlorides, scum, hard water and more. They clean the floor and eliminate hazy streaks without damaging floor finish.
We love Betco’s pHerfect Floor Neutralizer & Cleaner because it allows you to neutralize and clean in one simple step. It’s perfect for conditioning floors after stripping and before coating, and it leaves no residue behind. Formulated with neutralizing agents and surfactant to both penetrate and clean tough soils and neutralize common ice melt ingredients, this is our go-to solution for eliminating residue.
Stearns Concept “915” Ice Melt Remover is another great product that leaves floors sparkling clean. You can even use it on carpets! Just one pack makes five gallons of solution, making it an economical choice for removing ice melt residue.
We are proud to carry all the products you need to keep your floors looking their best all winter long, from floor matting and ice melt to dust mops and more. Contact us today with any questions you may have, and click here to explore our entire online catalog!
