If you're going to be having a residential steel fence installed around your home, you'll need to consider the winter care that will be needed. This is particularly important if your fencing is going to be exposed to snow or ice during the winter. Steel is an excellent material for residential fencing, especially when you're concerned about home safety and security. However, to avoid rust and corrosion, it does need some additional care and protection during the winter. Here are four crucial steps you should take to protect your residential steel fence from rust and corrosion.

Start with the Right Steel

When it comes to steel fencing, winter protection should begin prior to installation. It should actually begin while you're still in the planning stages for your new fence; when you're choosing the type of steel to use. To make sure your steel fence can stand up to the weather, and resist rust and corrosion, you should always choose galvanized steel. Galvanization is a process that's used in the manufacturing of steel that protects it from rust and corrosion.

Add Powder Coating

Choosing galvanized steel is an excellent first step in protecting your new fence from winter damage. However, there's a second step you should take during the planning and installation phase. To make sure your steel fence is properly protected from rust and corrosion, you'll need to have it powder coated. Powder coating is a process that applies a baked on coating to the surface of the steel. Once your fence is powder coated, it will be resistant to a wide variety of hazards, including chips, rust and corrosion.

Be Diligent About Snow Removal

If your new fence is going to be exposed to snow, you'll need to be diligent about the removal. Continual exposure to snow can wreak havoc on your steel fence, even steel that's been properly protected. You see, galvanized steel that's been powder coated is resistant to rust and corrosion but not impervious to it, which means it can still be damaged if not cared for properly. To ensure that your previous precautionary measures are able to do their job, you'll need to remove snow as soon as possible. You can do that by sweeping the snow away with a soft broom.

Take Advantage of the Warm Days

If you use deicing agents on your sidewalks and driveway, you'll need to make sure that you keep your steel fence clean. Chemical deicing agents can cause damage to the surface of your steel fencing. To protect your fencing, you'll need to take advantage of the warm days. Whenever the temperatures warm up a bit, head out with a bucket of warm sudsy water and a scrub brush, and give your fence a thorough cleaning. This will remove the salt and other deicing agents that can damage your fence.

Contact a service, like Magna Steel Sales Inc., for more help.