Ice Melt Residue on Carpet - Why Is It Such a Problem and How to Remove:

Ice Melt Residue Salt on Carpet - Why Is It Such a Problem and How to Remove: Tracking ice melt into your home or business can severe damage to your carpet and hard floors - tracking in dirt, destroying carpet fibers and increasing wear as well as making hard floors oily and slippery. The Problem of Ice Melt on Floors - Carpets, Rugs, Entry Mats, Car Mats and Hard Floors: Ice melt is tracked onto carpet during the winter months from shoes and boots. The heaviest buildup is usually in the entry areas of a house or building and appears white and crusty. This residue is not easily removed with normal cleaning detergents. In fact, alkaline detergents make the problem worse. On waxed VCT floors, rock salt (sodium chloride) leaves a white powdery residue that can dull and eat away the floor finish or wax and potentially damage the floor as well. Worse yet, the oily residue from calcium chloride ice melt can be slippery on smooth floors creating a slip hazard, fall injuries and potential lawsuits. On wood floors, ice melt leaves behind an slippery, oily residue that can damage urethane or wax finishes used on wood floors and may eventually draw out natural moisture, causing splintering. On rugs, ice melt can lead to dry rot issues. On carpets, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride ice melt attracts dirt on carpets and is hard to remove by normal cleaning. Calcium chloride ice melt is hygroscopic (draws moisture) and turns to calcium hydroxide (lime) when you try to clean with an alkaline detergent. The white powder from calcium chloride ice melt will very quickly track throughout a building and, since it is hygroscopic, causes severe soiling. Quick removal is important! What is Ice Melt? What Is In Ice Melt and What Are Its Properties? Ice Melts include sodium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and urea and work by lowering the melting point of snow and ice. Calcium chloride is used in place of sodium chloride (salt) when the temperatures are extremely low when salt no longer performs to melt ice. Calcium chloride is an exothermic deicer, which releases heat to melt the ice, works the quickest and is effective at a broader range of temperatures. For example, solid calcium chloride releases heat and is effective down to 25 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. The predominant chemical in a blended product will determine its performance. Sodium chloride ice melt, often called rock salt, is an endothermic deicer, absorbs the sun’s heat and uses it to break ice down to liquid brine, works more slowly and is effective at a smaller range of temperatures. Sodium chloride is effective down to 25 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Follow these Steps to Remove Ice Melt Residue from Carpet and Keep Ice Melt From Harming Floors and Carpet: Remove all mats. On carpets and rugs: If dry, thoroughly vacuum first. Apply Brown Out® ice melt residue remover at normal concentration. Brown Out is on the acid side, dissolves calcium chloride without turning it to lime. Extract the carpet or rug with Brown Out. For large carpeted areas, extract with at least 4-8 ounces per gallon solution of Brown Out in water (with no detergent) through the base unit or a portable extractor. At this point, you can do normal extraction cleaning. On hard floors: Thoroughly sweep and vacuum the area. Mop the same areas with a microfiber flat mop to remove any remaining dry ice melt crystals. Damp mop with a Brown Out at normal concentration. Rinse the floor with clean water if needed. Repeat the process if ice melt remains. WARNING: DO not use Brown Out, or any other acid, on marble or limestone or on polished concrete floors! How to Prevent Ice Melt Problems in a Business Building: In a commercial building, use at least 15 feet of walk off matting that includes a combination of wipe and scraper matting. Use Brown Out daily to help prevention of ice melter deposits on hard floors. In entry areas where ice melter tracking is likely to occur, mop floors regularly Brown Out as above. Keep areas outside just before entering a building as clean and ice free as possible. How to Prevent Ice Melt Problems in a House: Minimize the amount of ice melt tracked into the house by using doormats and rugs on the inside and outside of all of the home’s entrances. Clean the doormats as often as possible with a mop or vacuum throughout the day. Consumer Steps to Remove Ice Melt Residue from Carpet and Keep Ice Melt From Harming Floors and Carpet: Use a clean and absorbent cloth or rag soaked in white vinegar, an acid, to dab the salt stain and allow it to soak for 15 minutes. Blot the carpet with another rag and clean water. DO NOT USE ON MARBLE or LIMESTONE! Cleaning Carpets in the Winter When setting up for a job, take solution hoses into the house first. Lay them down in the entryway and set up your extension cord. Start the base unit running right away. After getting all set up and moving the furniture,plug in your solution hose and start cleaning.This procedure will help keep your hoses from freezing. Make sure cleaning heads and hoses are drained when finished cleaning. Freezing will damage the jets and other brass fittings. If you do not have a heated garage, use a space heater in your van. Plug your electric water heater into keep clean water hot. This will help keep the inside of the van warm, too. Be sure to do all the necessary and routine maintenance on your equipment. Have spare pump screws and a stator handy. Carry a shovel to clean side walks and areas around the van. Don’t forget to use door drapes to keep the heat inside the house and the cold out. Be sure to wear shoe booties inside the house or building - don’t bring snow, salt and grime into the home! Spray a silicone lubricant on the outer edge of truck doors that are frozen shut. Wait a few minutes until the silicone sinks in then try to open the door gently. Don’t yank on it or you may damage the weather stripping. If the emergency or parking brake won’t release, rock the truck back and forth gently by putting it in forward and then reverse while trying to release the brake. If this doesn’t work,have it towed somewhere warm so the cables underneath can thaw. Ice buildup around windshield wipers will damage the blades and may cause the wiper motors to burn out. A frozen cooling fan can cause the engine to overheat. Watch the temperature gauge. If it starts to climb into the red, stop. Turn off the truck and wait a few minutes, then try starting it again. Free Bane-Clene Information Package Free packet of information about Bane-Clene can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-428-9512 (U.S. ONLY!). Your information packet will include a full color catalog and price addendum. Packets will arrive in approximately 2 weeks through standard United States Mail. You can also order the packet at the Catalog Request Form. “A to Z” Alphabetical Index to the Bane-Clene Web Site Bane-Clene Home Page Copyright: Bane-Clene® Corp. Author: Donald W. Terry, Sr. - Bane-Clene’s Chemist Date Published: February 12, 2016 Date Modified: January 30, 2019