Don’t Let the Heat Get to You

Achieve Cleaning & Sealing Success During Summer’s Most Challenging Weather

Extreme summer heat can make cleaning and sealing surfaces difficult. Here are some tips to keep your crews working during a heat wave.

Tips for Cleaning Success
  1. Optimize your schedule: Clean on warmer days, save sealing for the days with lower temperatures
  2. Keep cleaners from drying on the surface: Apply additional cleaner during dwell time if it is drying to quickly
  3. Flash the cool surface: Spray a light mist of water on the surface to cool it down and allow it to evaporate before applying the cleaner
  4. Clean in small sections: To keep cleaner from drying out on the surface, work in smaller, more manageable areas
  5. Allow surface to dry before sealing: Most surfaces should be ready for sealing approximately 24 hours after raining or cleaning
Tips for Successful Sealing
  1. Start early: Seal in the early morning hours when temperatures are typically at their lowest. If the surface is damp with dew, dry it with a leaf blower
  2. Divide large scale projects into sections: Seal sections on separate days to take advantage of lower temperatures in the morning. Select a predominate joint line, sidewalk or curb line as your stopping and starting point
  3. Seal when the surface temperatures is less than 120°F: The surface temperature may be higher than the air temperature. Invest in an inexpensive infrared surface thermometer to eliminate the guesswork
  4. Stop sealing: If the sealer is dry to the touch in just a few minutes, it may be flashing off the surface and not absorbing properly. Resume on a day with cooler temperatures
  5. Invest in tools that speed up the process: Shorten application time by using an automatic sprayer. Surebond’s SB-Power Sprayer applies up to 2 gallons of sealer per minute (use with water based sealers only)

 

 

*Information provided by SEK Surebond Corporation