Tips for Minimizing Damage to Your Asphalt Parking Lot This Winter

This winter, Toronto has seen a great deal of egregious weather conditions ranging from heavy snowfalls, storms, and fog, to sleet, hailstorms, and even rainstorms. If you happen to be a landlord or commercial property owner, it’s your responsibility to ascertain that anyone and everyone who uses the exterior of your property either occasionally or on a regular basis is completely safe and sound this winter. The best way to do this is by hiring professional parking lot maintenance contractors in Toronto who can help you maintain a clean, safe, and pristine property this winter season.

With that in mind, here are a few important winter parking lot maintenance tips you should adhere to regularly throughout the season.

Shovel During or Immediately After Every Snowfall

No matter how heavy the snowfall is, whether it’s just a few centimetres or more, it’s imperative that you remove all snow before it has the chance to stick to the ground and freeze into ice. Always keep an eye on the weather forecast and make sure that you throw down some ice on your commercial or residential property before an expected snowfall to prevent it from sticking to the ground. If you don’t get the chance to do this or forget to check the weather, then make sure to shovel the snow right away. Use the right type of shovel for your asphalt and refrain from using one that’s too sharp as the blades at the end can slowly scrape your asphalt and cause it to break apart with continued shovelling.

Use Mild De-Icing Agents

It’s important to guarantee that your asphalt parking lot or driveway is free of any ice in order to ensure the safety of everyone who uses it and avoid any potential lawsuits due to slip-and-fall accidents or injuries. However, be weary of the type of de-icing agents you use because strong chemical de-icers can not only have detrimental environmental effects, but they can also damage and erode the surface of your asphalt pavement over time. The higher density of traffic your property encounters, the greater the chances are that the chemical de-icers will scrape against your asphalt thanks to foot traffic and the weight of heavy vehicles. Do proper research and try to find a mildly formulated de-icing agent or opt for a mildly formulated product that uses fewer chemical compounds than traditional de-icers. If you need recommendations on which products might work best for your property, consult a few different parking lot maintenance companies in your area for reliable advice.

Repair All Damages as Soon as They Occur

While it’s always recommended that you take the time to inspect the exterior of your property and implement all necessary asphalt repairs long before the first snowfall takes place, there are many unavoidable circumstances in which asphalt can sustain damage that’s caused directly by harsh weather conditions in the winter months. Even the tiniest cracks can quickly develop into potholes as your parking lot or driveway endures continued foot and vehicle traffic.

The bigger these holes get the more water and debris they’ll retain. This mixture of debris and fluids will inevitably erode your asphalt pavement from beneath the surface, compromising its structural integrity over time. During the winter months, it can be difficult to make the necessary repairs yourself correctly, efficiently, and adequately. In fact, you could risk even increasing the damage if the repairs aren’t applied effectively using high-quality materials and equipment. Understandably, some of these repairs can be costly so a lot of property owners opt for cheaper quick fixes; however, botched repair jobs will only lead to more costly damages in the future, so it’s better to hire a qualified and experienced parking lot maintenance contractor in Toronto for assistance instead. They have the proper tools and materials to get the job done right the first time and prevent future damages from occurring.

Remove Puddles

Nothing is more damaging to your asphalt pavement than long-standing water that’s retained in indentations throughout your property. Puddles typically contain a great deal of standing water in the winter thanks to heavy precipitation and melted snow. This can weaken the surface structure of your asphalt and eventually penetrate the surface of it only to cause further destruction to the existing substrate beneath the surface.

Puddles may seem harmless at first, but they can cause a great deal of costly damage to your asphalt if you don’t get them taken care of right away. A lot professional parking lot maintenance companies such as Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance Inc. utilize a process that’s referred to as Infrared Road Repairs (IRR) to fix standing water issues caused by small or large indentations in asphalt. In addition to being a much more effective and lasting means than traditional repair methods, this is much less costly and more environmentally friendly.

Establish Designated Snow Storing and Dumping Zones

When you hire a professional asphalt maintenance contractor to remove the snow and ice from your property, they’ll most likely try to recommend an appropriate and feasible designated snow storage or dumping area on your property. It’s best to choose a location that receives little to no traffic to guarantee the safety of everyone who uses your property. If you already have a location in mind, be sure to provide clear and concise storage and dumping instructions to the company you hire, even though a lot of this should be common sense and practice within the industry.

Stop searching for “parking lot maintenance near me” or “parking lot contractors near me” because Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance Inc. has you covered. We’ve been cleaning up and repairing commercial and residential asphalt parking lots and driveways in Toronto for over 20 years. Contact us today to get a free estimate on your property maintenance.

Photo Credit: iStock.com/madsci