Did you know that your parking lot speaks volumes about your business? It is typically the first thing that your customers see and interact with. The condition will either make a positive or negative impression upon them. It can even make the difference of attracting customers, or losing them to your competition. In addition, a poorly maintained parking lot can actually cause damage to your customers’ automobiles or themselves, which may very well lead to unnecessary lawsuits. The good news is that properly maintaining your parking lot is significantly easier, and less expensive than you may think. The following top five commercial parking lot maintenance tips will help.
Tip #1- Sealcoating
A cost effective method of maintaining your parking lot, and keeping it looking great, is having an expert seal coat the entire surface with a high-quality sealcoating product ever couple of years. If your parking lot happens to take a beating due to severe weather conditions or a tremendous volume of traffic, you may want to consider having it professionally Sealcoated every year. Spring time or early summer is typically the best time of year to have this work done. A fresh coat of sealcoating will extend the life of your asphalt. The jet-black finish will keep your commercial parking lot looking great year round.
Tip #2- Fill And Seal Cracks
Cracks in the asphalt surface of your commercial parking lot will predictably appear as a result of weather conditions and heavy use. Small cracks do not necessarily mean that your parking lot is doomed, however they should be fixed immediately upon discovery. Having small cracks filled and sealed by a professional is considerably easier than repairing larger ones. When water starts to seep into the cracks, the asphalt continues to deteriorate. When the weather gets cold, the freeze-thaw cycles cause the water in the cracks to freeze and then expand. This results in larger cracks that will destroy your parking lot if left untreated.
Tip #3- Remove Gasoline And Oil Drips ASAP
It goes without saying that harmful materials leak from automobile engines that are parked in your commercial parking lot on a daily basis. Gasoline and oil can cause a tremendous amount of damage to the asphalt. In essence, the chemical makeup of gasoline and oil deteriorates the binding agent that holds asphalt together. Surface exposure to these materials leads to rapid deterioration of your parking lot. It is vastly important to remove gasoline and oil drips as soon as possible. This can be accomplished by applying an absorbing agent over the gasoline and oil drips and then sweeping the absorbing agent away after it has absorbed the harmful materials.
Tip #4- Perform Visual Inspections On A Regular Basis
Issues with your commercial parking lot can happen quickly. It is important to walk the lot on a regular basis in order to properly maintain the area. That way you will be able to discover any issues, such as cracks, or pools of harmful gasoline or oil. These situations should be dealt with on an immediate basis. That way you can catch the issues before they become larger problems that require further downtime, and are drastically more expensive to fix.
Tip #5-Sweep The Parking Lot On A Regular Basis
It is necessary to sweep your parking lot on a regular basis in order to properly maintain it. Frequent cleaning removes the dirt and debris that tend to accumulate. When there is too much grime it creates the perfect conditions for standing water to collect. Standing water weakens the surface area of your commercial parking lot, and begins to seep into the substrate. This tends to cause even more deterioration and damage. In addition, it is always a good idea to perform visual inspections when sweeping.
