Pollution & Its Effect On Steel Fences
Before we answer the question of how pollution affects steel fencing in Melbourne, let’s take a glance at the pollution in Melbourne.
Natural events, such as windstorms, pollen and bushfires that devastated the country just not that long ago creating hazardous smoke that at one point made Melbourne’s air quality worst in the world. However, human activities are also responsible for pollution. Activities such as industrial processes, motor vehicle emissions and wood heaters. If we look at the pollutants, we can name a few. For example, gases, chemicals and airborne particles out of few.
The location of your house is also an important factor when it comes to pollution. For example, if you are located somewhere where you receive a sea breeze, you may experience less pollution than Melbourne suburbs that do not receive it. Some of the Melbourne suburbs as such as St Kilda or Brighton. Also, if you live in low lying areas, your air quality will be reduced as pollutants tend to settle in valleys. Therefore, if you own a house on a hilltop, you may be better off in regard to air pollution. Of course, the air quality near your home will have a significant decrease if you are located near (within 100m) of major roads.
Knowing the air pollution surrounding your home is important as then you will know to what degree the pollution affects your steel fencing. If you do not know it, you can check if from a website: Pollution in Melbourne: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map.
What would you do with that knowledge? Let’s answer the question: how pollution affects your steel fencing in Melbourne?
The main pollutants affecting different materials are sulphur dioxide and sulphates, nitrogen oxides and nitrates, chlorides, carbon dioxide and ozone.
One of the most sensitive materials to pollutants are ferrous metals. Ferrous metals are metals that contain iron. They include mild, carbon and stainless steel, as well as cast and wrought iron. Hence, you need to be aware of the material your fence is made of as that will determine to what extent your fence will be affected by the corrosion. Is it ferrous or non-ferrous material?
However, if it is a ferrous material, such as a steel fence, pollution can cause the loss of mass, discolouration or/and embrittlement.
Air pollution can cause damage to your steel fence and this is something you need to be aware of. If you know that you live in an area that has a higher pollution index, check your fence once in a while to see if there is no damage, as in most cases it is easier and cheaper to fix small damages (rusty patches) than to repair large damage or replace the whole steel fence overall.
If you are looking for a steel fence installer or someone who can fix the damage caused by pollutants or some other factors, turn to Diamond Fence. We can help you with steel fencing services!
Give us a call (03) 9753 4566, shoot us an email on info@diamondfence.com.au or just get a FREE online quote.
