It’s true that salt can be a menace to many metal surfaces. Thankfully, aluminum fencing can handle salt in any form thanks to its amazing properties.
Salt can get dangerously close to your fence in different ways. If you live in a place that has very cold winters where the roads need de-icing often, you will be very familiar with salt trucks and how damaging the salt can be to roads, street signs, and other objects in the path of the salt spray. If you live near a beach or are even lucky enough to have a beachfront property, you will be familiar with the salty air that comes with beach living. Whether Mother Nature is spraying your fence and home with salt from the sea or a truck is spreading the salt, it could spell disaster for your property’s fence.
Why is salt such a scary thing for fences? Salt is a natural element found in the earth. When this element hits certain surfaces – such as wooden or metal fences – it can cause erosion and rust. This can mean your fence becomes dilapidated, worn out and generally unsafe just from a bit of salt. The reaction that salt can cause involves corrosion on most metals, especially when paired with certain extreme weather conditions such as very high humidity or freezing temperatures.
De-icing roads and fences
Winter weather necessitates de-icing trucks, which come barrelling down streets and spraying any surface along the path with large chunks of special salt or chemical substances that have the same outcome. Once the salt hits an aluminum fence, it can actually be somewhat helpful if the fence has any type of ice forming on it. Ice can get quite heavy and stop a fence from doing what it needs to do, even causing dangerous icicles in places. In this respect, salt from a salt truck can actually be beneficial. But what about the salt’s effects on the aluminum pickets and posts?
Keeping the salt away
Thankfully, the powder coating on aluminum fences keeps the aluminum material strong and salt-free. Aluminum fencing panels will come already sealed in this special powder coating, making the naturally strong and sturdy fence even stronger against the elements. If there happens to be any scratch in the surface of the coating, the aluminum might have a reaction from an overabundance of salt. Aluminum is such a strong metal that even if this were to be the case, the aluminum could withstand the salt and would not rust and erode the way other metals would. Bottom line, if your aluminum fence is installed near salty elements, it’s always a good idea to periodically wash off your fence.
Other natural elements
Wind is one natural element that can easily wipe out an unsteady fence. Aluminum fence panels have space between the strong pickets that allows the wind to blow right through, making it a structurally sound fence that can withstand even the windiest weather. Rain and flooding should also be no match for your aluminum fence as it will have been installed with posts deep and sturdy into the ground.
As always, keeping your fence in good condition year-round can help it battle any elements that come its way. A yearly wipe-down with a mild detergent and water can keep the powder coating on an aluminum fence in great condition. Check for scratches in the surface of the fence before summer and winter to ensure your fence is up for the elements. With this little bit of work, you won’t need to worry about salt being the enemy.
