Sour milk spilling across your concrete floors at home is not a common occurrence. It is a concern, however, for places like restaurants, grocery stores, dairy farms, food processing plants, and bakeries. Milk is a creamy ingredient for many foods and drinks, and sometimes a tasty beverage itself (especially with chocolate added). But when it turns sour, a primary component within milk increases its destructive capability. That component is lactic acid.
What is Lactic Acid?
The sugar in milk is called lactose. Eventually, common bacteria break down the lactose into lactic acid, a process called fermentation. Incidentally, many companies today offer versions of lactose-free milk products to avoid fermentation, whether in the carton or the gut. Milk fermentation is not a bad thing in itself — the process is used to create yogurt, kefir, cheese, and other dairy products. Unfortunately for concrete, the lactic acid created by this process is corrosive, especially when large quantities are left to sit for an extended period.
A forgotten spill of sour milk, pipeline leaks, or poor drainage could easily compromise your concrete floor, not to mention creating mold, fungal and bacterial colonies in cracks and crevices. Thankfully, epoxy coatings provide an acid-resistant barrier so that sour milk never meets with your concrete. Also, West Coast Epoxy can add a non-slip coating to the entire floor or just for places with high traffic, offering a significantly safer workplace. Our coved flooring option also protects the base of your walls, which might have even more vulnerability to lactic acid.
Of course, sour milk is likely not the only liquid in a facility that might have a negative impact on your concrete floor. We will discuss many of these other liquids later in this series. Nevertheless, epoxy coatings are a safe, durable and long-lasting way to keep floors protected from spills. If an epoxy floor does not seem right for you, we also have concrete sealers that resist corrosive elements like lactic acid.
If you would like an analysis from an experienced member of our epoxy team, please give us a call or schedule a free consultation online. We can give you a rundown of all our applicable products, their advantages, and help you compare them so you get the best choice for your floor and services.