Tips for Maintaining Your Aluminum Covers in Las Vegas

Taking care of aluminum covers in Las Vegas tends to be a bit different than it would be in other places. Vegas’s climate does a number on anything made of metal, wearing them down far faster than usual. Replacement costs could mount without much notice. Unless you’ve been taking care of them properly, such expenses could become extreme. Unfortunately, for a lot of the people who own them, maintenance is all too foreign of a concept. Neglecting your equipment, even if it’s out of ignorance, won’t do much to console your wallet. So, with that in mind, how would we recommend caring for them so that they last a long time?

Properly Caring for Your Aluminum Covers in Las Vegas

Taking care of anything would be difficult without the right knowledge. Luckily, when it comes to patio covers, simplicity appears to be the name of the game. Patio covers won’t take much for them to stay in great shape, minimizing any pressure placed on you. First, we’d suggest cleaning them at the end of each week by applying a gentle cleanser. Something with a mild soap ought to dissolve any accumulated dust. As long as you do that fairly regularly, large clumps of dirt shouldn’t build up over time. Besides that, preventative maintenance ought to be one of your top priorities. Frequent preventative maintenance stops problems from appearing in the first place.

Protective Sealants Can Limit Potential Damage

Aluminum seems as if it isn’t built to handle the water, on account of how quickly it corrodes. Have you ever felt the surface of an aluminum cover, corroded by years of exposure? Those pockmarks are easy to identify if you haven’t seen them before. Placing a patio cover on the patio would seem as if it were a straightforward thought process. Yet, leaving them out might expose them to the elements, hastening potential replacements. On the other hand, a hydrophobic seal would eliminate the issue entirely. These coat surfaces with a chemical layer that repels moisture on a molecular level. Coated with this, your patio cover ought to weather the storm without so much as a scuff. However, it’d be best if you kept in mind how frequently new applications should be applied. Over time, the hydrophobic layer will evaporate otherwise, leaving the covers exposed.

After It Rains, Wipe Them Off

Hydrophobic coatings don’t stop all the harm. Even a small amount of moisture could cause quite a bit of corrosion. To truly stop that from happening, you’d need to wipe everything down after it rains. That way, anything left on the covers won’t stick around for long. The faster you can wipe them down, the less potential there ought to be for any damage. A mere microfiber cloth can hold several times its own weight in water. One of them can dry multiple covers in most instances.

Mildly Soiled Covers Can Be Swept Clean With a Hand Towel

Let’s say the last time you’ve gotten the covers cleaned happened to be a little too long ago. So, at this point, they’ve been slathered in a dust blanket. Nothing appears to be stuck on too hard. Still, without a little elbow grease, those signs could be the first of what’s to come. In this instance, we’d recommend using a mild cleanser, something lipophilic. Dawn dish shop would be a prime example. Detergents interact with hydrophobic molecules molecularly, bonding with things water won’t touch. Even small amounts can cut through grease that moisture couldn’t move if it wanted.

On Dirtier Surfaces, Use a Homemade Baking Soda Paste

Layered dust becomes caked dirt. Getting it off your covers is a much taller order at that point. Cleaning with an abrasive paste might make quick work of an otherwise obstinate task. Mix 1 part baking soda to 3 parts water, creating a paste the consistency of a liquid putty. Equipped with a sponge, scrub affected areas vigorously, continuing until they look spotless.

Monitor the Weather for Adverse Conditions

Strong winds and golf-ball-sized hail are about the closest things that patio covers have to natural predators. Leaving them out in the elements could be a fatal mistake if they happened to have an encounter with them. Keep an eye on the weather channel, as it tends to give some advanced warning. The second something questionable is forecasted, drag those covers somewhere safe. At the very least, toss them in a shed until things blow over.

Shutter It While It’s Not Being Used

Even sun exposure could take years of the lifespan of a brand-new patio cover. Aluminum warps when it gets warm, stressing the joints that keep everything together. Patio covers cool off after the sun sets, further warping their materials. One way to prevent such warping is by closing the covers when they aren’t in use. That way, they’re not hit as directly by the sunlight.