Protecting Your Vehicles from Corrosion

The industry is using a multi-faceted approach to combat transit vehicle corrosion related to winter deicers. One of the most effective ways to prevent this corrosion is to use a new three-step cleaning process in your transit washes. The first is the replacement of neutral and alkaline exterior detergents that have little or no effect on salt neutralization and removal, with a low pH detergent designed to neutralize and remove salt. The second is the application of this product concept in the interior bus cleaning. The third and most critical is the process design of an underbody wash system that should include an initial high-pressure water flush to break up compacted soil deposits, followed by the low pH detergent “neutralizer” wash. Adopting this three-step approach is a simple, economical solution that can easily be integrated into existing vehicle wash practices. Using the products with the right chemistry and thoroughly cleaning transit vehicles can lower the maintenance costs associated with road deicer corrosion and extend the useful life of a transit vehicle. MT

Tony Vertin is the chief operating officer with The Ver-tech Companies.