Now that spring is here, make sure all your equipment and vehicles are free of the salt and chemicals used on the roads this winter.  Leaving these chemicals on your equipment can cause long term damage and corrosion.

We are all quite aware that road salt causes vehicles to rust even if we aren’t keenly attuned to the exact chemical process… rust, or iron oxide, is the result of a reaction between iron in the metal and oxygen in the air. Water by itself doesn’t do much to further the reaction between iron and oxygen, but water containing lots of free floating ions (like sodium and chloride ions from dissolved salt) kick the electrochemical process into high gear.

Other road salt deicers, like calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, involve more complex molecules that distribute more ions when they dissolve in water. When dissolved, these molecules can prove even more damaging to a vehicle’s sheet metal than sodium chloride.

Once the rust process begins, it works quickly. Iron oxide molecules take up more space than iron atoms, so their expansion tends to break metal apart. Carbon dioxide in the air and water combines with the iron to create iron hydroxide, another form of rust that easily separates from the base metal. The rust process doesn’t stop unless all the corrosion is removed.

To make matters worse, as temperature increases in the Spring the rust reaction speeds up. All chemical reactions are temperature dependent. The warmer it gets, the faster the molecules move around – bouncing together and reacting at a higher rate. Plus, the warmer temperatures mean more moisture in the air, adding to the equation.

Make sure you remove all corrosive chemicals.  Hotsy’s Neutra Salt and Salt Lick clean your equipment and vehicles better than water alone.