Are you worried about salt corrosion in your garage floor drains this winter? Many building owners and property management companies don’t think about the status of their garage drains until it’s too late, and they’ve caused a massive flood in the parking area. The good news is that you do not have to wait for disaster to strike. You can implement proactive and preventative maintenance now. Let’s take a look at how road salt causes corrosion and what steps you can take to prevent it.
Understanding Road Salt
In order to keep the roads safe for vehicles, municipalities spread road salt across the major and minor thoroughfares. Of course, you may be wondering what’s in road salt. The truth is that road salt and the salt you put on your food have a lot in common. They’re both sodium chloride (NaCl). The difference comes in their purity levels. The salt on your table has been purified. The salt that is spread across the roads is still in its mineral form, called halite.
When salt mixes with water, it lowers the temperature at which the water freezes. This helps prevent slick spots that could lead to accidents. For improved traction, some cities also add sand to their road salt.
How Road Salt Corrodes Metal
The primary function of road salt is to lower the temperature at which water freezes. While this makes for safer driving conditions, it’s not necessarily safer for metal. This is because there is more liquid water on the road, and all of that liquid water mixes with the salt.
At this stage, it’s important to understand that salt water is an electrolyte. This means that it contains free ions and has the ability to conduct electricity. When we talk about free ions in this instance, we are talking about sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-). When the salt water and its free-floating ions come into contact with the metal on a vehicle or in your parking garage drains, it accelerates the process of corrosion. Within a short period of time, the rust or iron oxide can thin the pipe walls, leading to holes and breaks in the stormwater drainage system of your parking garage.
How Cracks and Holes Contribute to Parking Garage Clogs and Floods
During the winter months, more than salt water will flow into your parking garage drains. Debris can also make its way into your stormwater drainage system. When the pipes are smooth and intact, most of the debris will just flow through the pipes. However, if your drains have holes, cracks or rough spots due to corrosion, the debris can get trapped, and once one piece of debris has been trapped, it will attract more debris. Over time, all of that debris can result in a full clog.
When your parking garage drains clog, water can’t flow freely. Instead, it backs up into your parking garage, causing a flood. This can damage your garage’s concrete foundation and the parked vehicles, leading to thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs. The good news is that you can take steps to stop garage drain corrosion and parking garage damage before it starts.
Signs You Have Parking Garage Drain Problems
As a property manager, superintendent or Chicago building owner, it’s important to keep an eye out for parking garage drain problems. If you or anyone on your staff notices any of these issues, you should hire a professional to inspect and repair the damage.
- You notice water pooling around your garage drains or in low-lying areas.
- You see water pooling around the drains for an extended period of time, which indicates a slow-moving garage drain.
- Water backs up from the garage drain and goes into the garage.
- Your garage floor seems to have a lot of cracks and/or broken concrete. This can indicate water damage in the foundation of the garage.
- Your employees, residents, or visitors tell you that your garage has a nasty smell. This can indicate water pooling in the drain and organic material rotting.
How to Keep Your Garage Drains Safe from Road Salt Corrosion
Repairing damage caused by road salt corrosion in your parking garage drains can be expensive. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to avert financial disaster.
Keep Debris Off the Drain Grate
Periodically walk around your parking garage and remove any debris from around the grate. Debris could include trash, leaves, twigs and dirt. Debris can trap moisture against the grates and accelerate their deterioration. Not to mention, clogged grates can lead to garage floods, which can damage the concrete as well as the parked vehicles.
Periodically Inspect the Drains as Part of Your Routine Maintenance
How do your drains look? As part of your preventative maintenance program, remember to look inside your drains. Your maintenance team should take a long look at the drain grates and view as far down into the drain as they can see. How does it look? Have there been any instances of water backing up or not draining properly? If your team identifies rust on the grates or experiences any slow water flow, a professional plumber should be called right away. You could have cracks and holes due to corrosion, as well as clogs.
Consider Epoxy Pipelining for Longevity
If you want to prevent saltwater corrosion inside your garage drains, consider lining them with epoxy pipeliners. Saltwater reacts with metal, leading to rust and metal deterioration. It does not significantly react with epoxy. Furthermore, epoxy pipeliners prevent water from touching the metal of the host pipe. This can significantly increase the useful life of your garage drain plumbing system.
Remember to Perform Maintenance on Your Drains Before and After Winter
It’s always a good idea to schedule seasonal maintenance on your garage and parking lot drains before and after winter. During late fall, it’s a good idea to hire a company to come out and inspect your drains and perform a cleaning service, like hydro-jetting. This helps clear any leaves and twigs that might have made their way down your stormwater drains and removes any partial or complete clogs. By performing this maintenance in the fall, you are maximizing the flow rate of your garage drains. This helps prevent saltwater from sitting inside your drains and causing corrosion.
Once the weather starts to warm, consider having your garage drains hydrojetted again. This helps remove all the salt and debris that might have made its way down your drains during the winter. It also helps prepare the drains for the spring storms by making sure they are free and clear of obstructions.
Epoxy Pipelining for Chicago Garage Drain Preventative Maintenance and Extended Useful Life
Have you thought about lining your garage drains with epoxy pipeliners? An epoxy pipeliner consists of a felt liner that is soaked in a two-part epoxy. The liner is then inserted into the drain and inflated via an air bladder. The liner is then left in place while it hardens and cures. This usually takes about 24 hours. Once the liner is fully cured, the drain is put back into service, and you no longer have to worry about saltwater corrosion.
How to Start the Process of Getting Epoxy Pipelining for Your Chicago Garage Drains
Are you ready to stop saltwater corrosion in your garage stormwater drains? If you are, you might be wondering how you start the process. Well, the first step is to call NuFlow Midwest at 815-790-9000. Our pipelining technicians can answer all of your epoxy pipelining questions, including questions on how long the process takes.
If you’re still uncertain about lining your garage drains, you can schedule a building pipe assessment. These assessments aren’t free, but they do provide you with a lot of insight and value. This is because they come with a camera inspection, and this inspection allows our technicians to evaluate the status of your drains and determine if there are any clogs. We can also give you an estimate of the amount of useful life left in your storm drains. The assessment also includes a recommendation for or against pipelining and a detailed estimate. The forecast, in fact, is so thorough that you can take it to your HOA, building owner, or board of directors and make an informed decision on whether or not pipelining is right for your building.
Once you’re ready, call us at 815-790-9000. We’ll schedule your epoxy pipelining during a time that’s most convenient for your business, condo, apartment complex, or venue.