What is the Best Concrete Sealer for Winter?

With fall just around the corner, concrete sealer season is in full swing. Fall is an extremely popular time of year to seal concrete since it is beneficial to protect outdoor applications from road salts and freeze-thaw cycles.

Municipalities and the Department of Transportation use chlorides and deicing salts to melt the snow and ice on the road ways. Vehicles on these roads track this salt onto driveways and into garages and once parked the snow and salts melt off of the vehicle into a puddle on the concrete. If left untreated over time the concrete will start to erode in these spots and cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.

When it comes to choosing the best concrete sealer for winter climates you are going to want to use a penetrating concrete sealer preferably with a silane component. Silanes are excellent salt and chloride repellents that are able to protect concrete from damaging spalls, cracks and unsightly pitting. Penetrating silane sealers are able to penetrate the substrate and create a hydrophobic barrier to keep out water. Water is the major culprit when it comes to concrete damage and it is the carrier of road salts. By keeping the water out of the concrete you will be keeping out the damaging salts and chlorides and prevent any damage.

When looking for a silane concrete sealer look for a high actives formulation. A high actives concentration means you are getting a high amount of active ingredient into the concrete without any filler or byproduct. Silanes are available in actives concentrations as high as 100% and as low as 5%. Silanes are available with water based carriers or solvent based carriers with the solvent based carriers penetrating deeper and performing better over time. Silanes can also be mixed with siloxanes, known as silane/siloxane sealers.