Heated Treads: Find A Better Way To Deice Your Building's Steps

If ice and snow make your building's stairs extremely unsafe during the cold season, you may rely on salt to deice your steps. However, deicing salt can be unhealthy for the environment as well as expensive to buy and maintain. You can use heated applications, such as heated step treads, to deice your steps. Learn why salt isn't the best deicer for you and why heated step treads are better for you below.

Why Is Salt Unsafe To Use?

Deicing salt contains the chemical sodium chloride. Sodium chloride lowers the freezing point of water before it has a chance to turn into ice. Although sodium chloride works well to keep paved surfaces free of ice, the substance can be dangerous for many reasons.

Once ice melts, it tends to drip or run off surfaces. The melted water not only carries dirt and other residue but also carries large amounts of sodium chloride. The sodium chloride found in melted ice can soak into the plants surrounding your building, or it can travel to lakes, streams, and even the water flowing beneath the ground. If you rely on the water around you for business or personal use, it may eventually cause great harm to your health.

You can continue to use salt to deice your steps, or you can use heated step treads instead.

Why Are Heated Step Treads Better for You?

Heated step treads are safer and better solutions to deice your stairs. Step treads look similar to the rubber floor mats found in cars and other vehicles. Instead of placing the devices inside a structure, you place them on the surfaces of your paved steps. The devices not only prevent ice from forming on your steps, but they also melt any ice that does form.

Heated step treads generally come with many unique features, including internal heating cables and elements. The heating applications receive their power from the electricity in your building or from a special device called a power conduit. If the electricity in your building is weak, a power conduit may be safer to use with your heated step treads. 

Most heated step treads require special or professional installation before you can use them. The heating cables must be properly embedded or situated close to the pavement on your steps before you can use them. If you install the cables improperly, they can overheat or cause issues with the structures around them. 

In addition to cable placement, the mats must adhere securely to the surfaces of your steps. If you don't use the correct hardware to install the mats, they may slip out of placement when you walk on them.

If you think heated step deicing treads will work for you, contact a supplier or installation company for services today.

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