Author: Allen Brown

Especially if you are dealing with a commercial property, the look of your parking lot matters a lot. Because it is the first thing potential clients notice, a poorly managed parking lot can hurt your image. A disorganized, improperly marked and cluttered lot can even subject users and their cars to safety and security risks. For these and many more reasons, the lot should always be in good condition. This piece will shed some light on a few practical ways to ensure your parking lot is always in good condition.

1. Remove Unnecessary Cars from Your Lot

If you have a spacious parking lot for your commercial establishment, some drivers could take advantage of the free parking offered to visitors. Some may even leave their cars there since you probably have security guards in the vicinity. To keep your parking lot neat and organized, these and junk or wrecked cars should be cleared. As highlighted by the professionals behind americanwrecker.net/private-property-services/, all you need to do is call a reputed towing service for assistance. They can safely handle the matter while also sparing you from any legal issues that may arise from towing someone’s car away. This leaves your lot neat, organized, and spacious enough for your visitors to feel safe and comfortable parking there.

2. Take Care of Debris and Surrounding Landscape

This can be through sweeping to keep the debris away. When dirt or garbage collects on your parking lot, it may lead to its deterioration. If there is debris on the surface, water may fail to drain properly. Over time, this causes it to crack because it has been softened. The landscape around your pavement should also be kept clean. Sweep off the leaves, mow the grass, and trim the shrubs. This will ensure that they do not make an inroad into your pavement and cause damage. Besides, if your parking lot is dirty, it is unattractive to your visitors. It may also have an odor that can keep people away. Therefore, ensure you sweep it along with the drainage areas once in a while to maintain that good appeal.

3. Power Wash Oil Stains

Oil stains cannot be avoided in your parking lot. This is because you cannot instruct customers or tenants on the type of car to have. With cars comes the issue of oil spillage, and the oil can seep into the lot’s surface, rendering it weak. As you know, weak sections are more prone to damages and cracks. Therefore, clean the spillage immediately when you notice it.

4. Fill Any Cracks and Potholes

It is okay for cracks to appear in your parking lot. However, ensure you seal them immediately. If not taken care of, they can develop into potholes. This is worse and more expensive to repair. Cracks happen because of weed forming in your lot. If not taken care of immediately, the weed may grow affecting a bigger section. Also, these hoes end up collecting rainwater during the rainy season. This makes the area impassable. It can also lead to personal injury if a person trips on them. This creates a bad image for your building as being ill-managed, hence loss of clients.

5. Ensure Proper Drainage

We have already established that water is an enemy of your parking lot. However, you cannot roof it or the entire driveway. That would be crazy and expensive. A more reasonable solution would be to ensure proper drainage. This acts as a miracle worker, especially during rainy seasons. This is because the water flows away, hence a reduced risk of damage. When water accumulates in the non-pavement area, it may lead to erosion. A build-up of eroded materials may eventually cover the parking area, making it impassable. Besides, this is not aesthetically pleasing. A drainage system will ensure this does not happen. Therefore, invest in this and keep your pavement and surrounding landscape in excellent condition.

6. Maintain a Seal Coating Schedule

A seal coating job prevents damage to your pavement by water or cracks. The duration it should take before doing this depends on daily use and prevailing weather. The first coat should be applied the first few months after installation. Afterward, you can have it done once after every three years. Keeping up with this will prevent you from incurring any repair costs associated with deterioration. After seal coating, you should re-do the parking lot striping. The painted lines are good for highlighting spaces. This can increase the number of parking slots while ensuring good traffic flow. Therefore, this maintenance method will ensure efficiency and longevity for your parking lot.
The parking lot can be a vital selling point for your building or business. If it is in a good state, it is pleasing to the eye, safe, and maximizes parking space. Thanks to the few tips above, maintaining your parking lot is not anything close to rocket science.