fencing in the area around your pool

3 Tips For Slowing The Rate At Which Your Wrought Iron Fence Rusts

2 December 2015 by Emma Kilpela

Wrought iron is a common material to use in both residential and commercial fences because it's both aesthetically pleasing and very durable. However, while rust caused by rain, humidity, and heat usually won't threaten the structural integrity of your wrought iron fence, it will ravage its surface and tarnish its appearance if you let it spread for too long. To ease your maintenance duties by slowing the rate at which your wrought iron fence rusts, use these three tips.

Install Trees With Wide Canopies Next To Key Fence Sections

Presumably, some sections of your property's fence are easily seen by passersby while some will almost always be in the background. Install large trees with wide canopies like maple or oak next to the visible sections so that they'll be partially shielded from rain. This way, even if you neglect your rust cleaning duties for a long time because you're busy with other things, the most important sections of your fence will resist rust longer than they normally would.

Ensure That Water Puddles Can't Form Anywhere Around The Fence's Base

If all the vertical bars of your wrought iron fence are touching the ground instead of hanging in the air or resting on a concrete platform, you'll need to take all the steps you can to prevent water puddles from forming around them. This can include everything from installing extra drains on your property to altering the shape of the ground around the fence so that water will always flow away from the metal.

Ignoring constant water puddles will lead to rust having a quick and easy time establishing a base on the bottoms of your fence's metal bars. Unless you plan on completely surrounding your fence with small shrubs and flowers, this will lead to a very unattractive sight.

Even In Early Winter, Clear Snow And Sleet Away From Your Fence

You might be tempted to ignore snow and sleet that falls on and around your fence in the first month or so of winter because it'll all melt away eventually. But while this is usually true, the water will do a ton of damage to all parts of the metal surface before it finally evaporates. 

Think of the fact that the water is snow or sleet instead of rain as an opportunity to clear it away from your fence before it does more damage than it has to. If snow is packed mostly around the base of the fence, use a shovel. If many little snow chunks are stuck in the curves and crevices making up your ornamental fence posts, use a brush to get rid of them.

For more tips, visit a fencing contractor like Carter Fence.

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