Keep your automatic doors humming, even in wicked weather like this

When heavy snows and sub-zero temperatures swept across Wisconsin last week, many of our customers felt they were in the eye of an even bigger storm.

Call it the "winter maintenance vortex."

Keeping entrances clear and dry in times like these may seem all but impossible, but we know you won't give up. After all, the safety of visitors and employees depends on it -- and so does the health of your automatic doors.

Salt: friend or foe?

It's great at clearing ice from parking lots and walkways. But did you know that salt (and other sodium-based ice melt products) can do major damage to your automatic doors?

Chemical reactions begin as soon as salt comes in contact with door parts. It eats away at aluminum, causes steel to pit and rust, and makes the mechanical parts of your doors corrode.

Salt is especially harmful in the tracks of a sliding door, where it interferes with smooth door operation, allowing even MORE snow and ice to come inside.

Melting snow compounds the problem

Snow and slush in doorways can create issues, too. Melted snow can re-freeze, exerting undue force on frames and moving parts as it expands and contracts.

When doors labor to open and close, problems just get worse. A few days of neglect can cost you plenty - all the way up to the price of a brand new door.