Each year state and city workers spread thousands of pounds of salt on roadways to melt ice and keep all of us safe. It’s obviously a necessity, but all the excess salt gets stuck on your car and clothes. By the end of the winter, you’ve got enough salt on your floors and carpets to take care of all your popcorn needs for a few millennia. This stuff can be a pain to get out, but Illinois Valley Clean Team has your hookup.
Why so hard to remove?
One thing people don’t realize is the salt used on roads is hard to clean. Salt has a high pH, making it a strong base that can interact with your flooring. This isn’t table salt (sodium chloride), but most likely calcium chloride (so don’t actually use it on your popcorn). The problem is before it can be clean, the pH has to be decreased to neutral levels or else it starts to dissolve the finish on your floors or just smear. If there’s a high enough concentration, then it can turn into a sticky mess.
Cleaning the Mess
If you have high pH, then you can neutralize it by adding a low pH i.e. an acid. There are many cleaning products that are acidic or you can use a couple ounces of vinegar per gallon of water. Once you have your acid, use a mop to mop up the salty mess. If there is a high concentration of salt, then you’ll want to let the vinegar set in for a little bit before mopping it up. If there’s some persistent streaking, then don’t be afraid to get s sponge soaked in the mixture and give it a little elbow grease.
Once the salt has been removed, you can dump out the vinegar mixture and fill up the bucket with warm soapy water. Run that over the area with the mop and then use with clean water to make sure all the salt is removed.
Salt in Carpets
It’s one thing if there’s salt on your hardwood floor, but salt on the carpet can be a real problem. People track in the wet slush. When it dries on your carpet, it leaves behind a crystalline stain. For this, mix a 1-1 mixture of vinegar and warm water into a spray bottle. Vacuum the area thoroughly and then spray the stain with the mixture. Let it soak for a little while and then rub the area with a cloth, according to howtocleanstuff.net. This should get rid of the salt crystals. If not, then repeat the procedure again. If you have a carpet cleaner or wet vac, then go over the area to remove as much moisture as you can or else let it dry on its own.
IV Clean Team is the Illinois Valley’s leading cleaning service. We offer a wide variety of services from home cleaning to concrete cleaning. Call today or get a free quote.
