Winter and the changing weather bring with it a familiar set of challenges to facility care professionals: snow, slush, ice, rain, and a general increase in moisture accumulation that can jeopardize floor safety. While beautiful to view through the window of a warm building, winter weather introduces slip-and-fall risks, disruptive maintenance demands, and added burdens on equipment and chemical usage.  

For organizations, unsafe floors mean potential injuries, liability, operational disruptions, and damage to flooring materials. For facility care teams, slippery floors mean long shifts, rapid response requirements, and a need for high-performance tools, systems, and planning. 

Because floor safety is foundational to overall facility safety, winter weather and its associated challenges demand an elevated strategy. From proper ice melt application and strategic entryway matting to wet-dry vacs, mops, air movers, signage, and moisture-control systems, multiple layers of intervention must work together.  

The writing below explores the most common safety challenges caused by winter weather and outlines practical solutions that can help facility care professionals maintain safe, clean, and professional-looking floors throughout the season. 

Why Floors Become Hazardous 

During winter months, facility floors endure a combination of increased moisture, temperature swings, and tracked-in contaminants. These conditions create slippery surfaces and can even degrade flooring materials over time. 

What challenges are we facing? 

  • Moisture 

Employees, visitors, and customers bring snow, slush, and moisture indoors on their shoes. As this melts, the water spreads across lobby floors, hallways, and adjacent areas. Cold surfaces naturally slow evaporation, causing standing water to linger longer than usual. 

  • Salt and Ice Melt Residues 

Calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and sodium chloride, all common ingredients in ice melt compounds, each leave behind a whitish, sometimes greasy film. This residue not only makes floors look dirty but also compromises surface traction until removed. 

  • Rapid Freeze–Thaw Cycles 

Moisture from entryways or docks may repeatedly freeze and thaw, creating localized slick spots that are difficult to detect, especially on concrete or polished surfaces. 

  • Increased Traffic Density 

Facilities often see heavier foot traffic during holidays and seasonal events, compounding the problems described above. More traffic also means more moisture and opportunities for slips. 

  • Equipment Overload 

Mops, vacuums, mats, and extraction equipment used sporadically in other seasons often become daily essentials. Without the right tools or sufficient capacity, facility teams can fall behind quickly. 

The Importance of Ice Melt 

Managing winter floor safety for building occupants begins outside the facility. Ice melt products play a crucial role in preventing ice accumulation, reducing slippery walkways, and minimizing the amount of snow and slush brought indoors. 

  • Different chemical blends serve different surfaces and temperature ranges: 
  • Calcium chloride is effective in very low temperatures (down to –25 degrees) and is fast-acting. 
  • Magnesium chloride is less corrosive, environmentally preferred, and works to –13 degrees 
  • Sodium chloride (rock salt) is economical but less effective in extreme cold and more corrosive. 
  • Selecting the right product improves performance and minimizes residue tracking. 


Proper Application Matters 

Overapplication is a common problem; excessive ice melt use leads directly to heavy residue inside the facility. Facility professionals should: 

  • Use broadcast spreaders for even distribution. 
  • Avoid piling ice melt near entrances. 
  • Sweep up unused product after melting occurs. 
  • Pair outdoor ice melt programs with effective indoor matting systems. 

When used correctly, ice melt reduces indoor hazards, extends floor life, and ultimately lowers cleanup time. 

Entryway Matting is Vital 

Experts often say that entryway matting is the facility’s most powerful winter safety tool. A well-designed matting program can prevent 80 to 90 percent of moisture and debris from entering the building. Below are three types of matting every facility should use: 

  • Scraper Mats: Placed directly outside entrances, these remove larger chunks of snow, ice, and salt. 
  • Scraper/Wiper Mats: These transition and vestibule mats remove finer particles and begin absorbing moisture.
  • Wiper Mats: These mats absorb water and dry shoe bottoms, significantly reducing slip hazards on the interior. 

For high-traffic facilities, aim for 15 to 20 feet of combined matting. The more steps people take on mats, the more moisture is removed from their shoes. 

Dirty or saturated mats can become slippery themselves. Facility care teams should: 

  • Vacuum mats daily. 
  • Replace or rotate mats before saturation. 
  • Use professional-grade matting that lies flat and resists curling. 


Use Signs 

During winter, hazard warnings become a constant requirement. Wet floor signs, caution cones, and barrier systems provide visual alerts and help staff comply with OSHA and facility safety standards. Whe using wet floor signs, be sure to: 

  • Always place signage before beginning mopping or cleaning. 
  • Keep signs visible from multiple directions. 
  • Use barrier systems or retractable belt stanchions for large areas or prolonged wet conditions. 
  • Remove signs when floors are dry. 

Winter increases the frequency of cleaning, so teams should have ample signage ready for rapid deployment. 

The Engines of Moisture Control 

Once moisture enters the facility, facility care professionals must respond quickly and continuously. Choosing the right tools makes a significant difference in both cleanliness and slip prevention. 

Traditional wet mops remain valuable for spot cleaning, but winter often calls for more advanced solutions: 

  • Microfiber flat mops absorb more liquid and leave less residue than cotton string mops. 
  • Dual-chamber mop buckets keep clean solution separate from dirty water. 
  • Color-coding systems help prevent cross-contamination when ice melt residues mix with restroom or foodservice contaminants. 
  • Using high-quality mop systems ensures moisture removal doesn’t simply spread water further across the floor. 

Another great tool, wet-dry vacuums increase efficiency dramatically when dealing with heavy melting snow or winter storms. They remove large volumes of water quickly, can handle slush, salt water, and debris that would clog standard equipment, and reduce labor time. 

Some facilities deploy wet-dry vacs at entrances for rapid response during peak traffic. 

Air movers (also known as floor dryers or carpet dryers) are essential in winter for accelerating evaporation in damp areas. They dramatically shorten drying times after mopping, extraction, or spill cleanup. 

Low-profile air movers placed along walkways or near transitions can maintain safer surface conditions without obstructing foot traffic. 

Chemical Help, Too 

Ice melt residues are not only unsightly—they also reduce friction on many floor surfaces, making them slippery even when dry. Facility care teams need the right chemicals to neutralize and remove these residues. 

Specialized neutralizing floor cleaners dissolve calcium, magnesium, and sodium chloride residues. These cleaners are especially valuable for VCT, LVT, terrazzo, and concrete floors. 

Floor Finish Considerations 

Winter is hard on floor finishes. Facility care professionals may need to: 

  • Increase autoscrubbing frequency. 
  • Apply additional coats of finish before winter begins. 
  • Schedule mid-season burnishing or recoating. 

Proper maintenance ensures floors stay durable, glossy, and safe. 

Additional Tools 

As you are gathering, winter floor safety often requires a robust toolkit. Additional helpful items include, squeegees, autoscrubbers, dehumidifiers, boot scrubbers, exterior cleaning statiuons, disposable towels, and aborrbent pads. 

A Layered Strategy 

The most effective winter floor safety programs are multilayered, combining outdoor, entryway, and interior strategies. There are six keys. 

  • Prevent hazards outside 
  • Capture contaminants at the door 
  • Communicate hazards 
  • Remove moisture 
  • Dry surfaces quickly 
  • Eliminate residues 

When these layers work together, facilities see fewer slip-and-fall incidents, better-looking floors, increased equipment lifespan, and lower overall risk. 

Keith Schneringer has been in the sanitary supply industry since 1990 and is currently the Senior Director of Marketing Jan/San + Sustainability for BradyPLUS, a specialized distributor and solution provider in facility care, foodservice, and industrial packaging. In his current role, Keith is responsible for marketing to the jan/san and facility care industry, for developing vertical-market-specific programs to better assist customers, and for leading the company's sustainability initiatives. Before assuming his current responsibilities, he worked as an account consultant, sales manager, marketing manager, and director of channel marketing + sustainability for WAXIE Sanitary Supply. 


posted on 12/11/2025