Snowy Boots | Intek cleaning

Rock salt and ice melt are super important for business owners in South Dakota. When snow and ice hit, you want to make sure your customers stay safe on your sidewalks.

But those same safety products can also cause a major headache for your business’s carpets.

After years working in Sioux Falls commercial cleaning, we’ve got some advice for keeping your commercial carpets clean, even through South Dakota winters.

What Causes Winter Carpet Stains?

How does rock salt cause those annoying carpet stains? Ice melt contains chemicals, including sodium chloride, calcium carbonate, and magnesium carbonate, which have very high pH levels.

When the moisture from the snow and ice melts, it evaporates, leaving behind the chalky white residue from these chemicals. Everyone in Sioux Falls office cleaning knows those white salt outlines well – but not everyone knows how to clean them correctly.

Because the chemicals in ice melt have such a high pH, you can’t use a cleaner with a high pH to remove them. That will only increase the chemical bond and ensure the chalky outline is there to stay. Instead, the rock salt stains need to be neutralized, which will ensure the stain is gone for good (or at least until next winter).

Prevent Carpet Stains at Your Business

Your Sioux Falls building maintenance crew at Intek is here to help once the rock salt stains are already in place, but you can take steps to prevent these from happening to your business’ carpets in the first place.

Vacuum often to get as much salt and dirt from your company’s carpets as you possibly can. Beside staining carpets, the salt in ice melt is really abrasive, and it can damage the fibers in your carpets.

Consider boot racks or a shoe changing station for employees who spend their day indoors. This is great for offices with minimal foot traffic throughout the day.

If your business does see heavy foot traffic, buy welcome mats so customers can clear their feet and protect your floors. You should also keep walkways free of snow and slush to reduce the amount of moisture tracked into your business.

Commercial Cleaning Services with Intek

As we get closer to spring here in South Dakota, many businesses are happy to see the snow melt away, but those rock salt stains might not be as easy to get rid of. If you need commercial cleaning services, contact the team at Intek today!