Rebel Against Rust

Warehouse equipment costs a lot of money so it's important to keep it looking and working like new. Out of all of the things that could possibly go wrong with your industrial equipment, why let rust be one of them? 

What causes our equipment to rust? 

Before we can come up with a solution to prevent our warehouse equipment from rusting we need to first know how it is created. 

What causes rust?

A.) Nickel, Oxygen, Water

B.) Steel, Heat, Oxygen

C.) Copper, Oxygen, Acid

D.) Iron, Water, Oxygen

Rust is primarily caused when iron is effected by open air oxidation, which occurs when iron, water, and oxygen react with one another (D). If you find that your warehouse or work space holds a high amount of water and humidity don't fret, there are several things you can do within your warehouse to mediate this situation.

1. Use A Dehumidifier: If you are working in an enclosed space and find moisture to be an issue using a dehumidifier can help! This will pull moisture out of the air, helping to prevent your equipment from rusting. 
2. Try Protective Paint: This special paint helps to prevent corrosion of heavy machinery. Sometimes it is even beneficial to layer this paint onto machinery that has already began to rust. Although, it will not correct the issue, it will usually prevent things from rusting further. 
3. Install Rust Preventing Lift Chain: Possibly one of the most important parts of your forklift, the lift chain. It would be detrimental if this were to rust. If rusting lift chain is commonplace in your warehouse try out corrosion/ rust resistant chain! 
4. Keep Your Equipment Clean: There are times when rust and corrosion are inevitable, but keeping your equipment clean will help keep unwanted ware away!

 

Proper Ways To Keep Your Forklift Clean

There are many warehouse working environments that can get pretty messy, mostly depending on what type of product you are manufacturing and moving. So aside from water particulates creating rust, our equipment just gets dirty. But how do you combat this unwanted grime? Here are a few things you can do!       

1.) First and foremost it is important to make sure you are wearing protective gear when cleaning your forklift. Some of the particles coming off of your truck may be harmful. Eye protection is possibly the most important thing considering loose particles may blow around. 

2.) Remove loose dirt from your equipment, like rust and dust particles. You can remove pieces like this by using a brush and dust pan, a paper towel, or a rag. 

3.) Need to get a deeper clean on your forklift? Wiping off loose particles is just the beginning of cleaning your material handling equipment. However, you will not see many people washing their forklifts using water. Washing industrial equipment, especially forklifts, with water can end up doing more damage than good. Water can get stuck in the small cracks and crevices of your forklift and can actually cause rust. When it comes to the use of electric forklifts and equipment, washing with water is out of the question. So what do you do? Clean your forklift using an air compressor power washer. This will remove tough dirt and grime without harming your equipment.

For The Things You Can't Fix

For the things that you can't fix, call Omega Material Handling, Inc 513.842.2012. Want to learn more about what it is we do? Check out our website.