Remove Runway Rubber With Airport Snow Removal Equipment

If you work in airfield maintenance—especially up north—you know that the battle against the elements never really ends. In the winter, you are constantly fighting ice and snow to keep the runways black and safe. But once the spring thaw hits, a new enemy settles in: runway rubber buildup.

It happens every time a jet touches down. The friction burns rubber off the tires, melting it into the pavement grooves. Over time, that buildup gets slick when wet, threatening the safety of landing aircraft.

Traditionally, dealing with this meant hiring expensive contractors with massive high-pressure water blasting trucks. But there is a smarter, cheaper way to handle it. You can actually remove runway rubber with airport snow removal equipment you likely already have sitting in your maintenance shed.

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Why Your Airport Snow Removal Fleet is Your Best Summer Asset

Let’s be honest: specialized aviation equipment is expensive. For airports in snowy regions, a huge chunk of the budget is tied up in airport snow removal fleets—massive brooms, plows, and de-icing sprayers. For six months out of the year, these expensive machines sit dormant, collecting dust and suffering from “lot rot.”

By repurposing this gear for rubber removal, you solve two problems at once. First, you get a massive return on investment (ROI) by utilizing your capital assets year-round. Instead of paying a contractor 20 to 40 cents per square foot, you can do it in-house for pennies.

Second, and maybe more importantly, it keeps your crew sharp. Running an airport snow removal operation requires skill and familiarity with the vehicles. By using the same trucks and brooms in July that you use in January, your staff gets year-round training time behind the wheel. When the first blizzard hits in December, they won’t be rusty—they’ll be ready.

The Airport Snow Removal Equipment You Need for Rubber

You might be thinking, “How can a snow broom scrub off hardened rubber?” It comes down to physics and chemistry. The mechanical action required to scrub wet slush out of runway grooves is actually very similar to the action needed to scrub out chemically softened rubber.

Here is the basic airport snow removal package you’ll need to turn your winter fleet into a summer cleaning crew:

1. The Distributor (Spray Rig)

You need a way to get the detergent onto the runway. In the winter, you use liquid dispersal trucks to spray potassium acetate or other de-icers. These same rigs are perfect for applying rubber removal detergents like Avion50. Whether it’s a dedicated tanker or a spray bar attachment on a John Deere or Bobcat tractor, if it can spray liquid evenly, it will work. Since Avion50 is alkaline, it won’t eat up the pumps designed for winter chemicals, and it certainly won’t clog your lines.

2. The Agitator (Snow Broom)

This is the workhorse. Your high-speed rotary brooms are the secret weapon. However, standard poly bristles used for light snow might be a bit too soft for scrubbing rubber. For the best results, you should swap them out for a blend of 80% steel bristles and 20% polymer. The steel cuts through the “jelly” of the dissolved rubber, while the poly bristles help sweep the sludge away.

3. The Rinser (Water Truck)

Once the rubber is loose, it needs to go. You will need a water truck with a heavy-duty capacity—several thousand gallons is ideal. Many airports use retired ARFF vehicles or standard water buffaloes. You need enough volume to flush the dissolved rubber off the runway and into the safety area.

A Simple 3-Step Process Using Snow Removal Tactics

The best part about this method is that it doesn’t require a PhD in chemistry or a certification in hydro-blasting. It’s a simple “Apply, Scrub, Rinse” workflow that any maintenance team can master.

Here is how the process works:

Step 1: Spread and Soak

Drive your spray rig down the runway and apply the Avion50 detergent. The goal is to saturate the rubber deposits. Once it’s down, you have to let it work. Allow the detergent to sit (dwell) on the surface for about 30 minutes. During this time, the chemical is breaking down the hardened carbon-sulfur bonds, turning that rock-hard rubber into a soft paste.

Step 2: Agitate with the Broom

After the 30-minute dwell time, bring out your airport snow removal brooms. Run them over the treated area. The steel bristles will agitate the mixture, scrubbing the softened rubber right out of the pavement’s micro-texture. You’ll see a black slurry forming—that’s the rubber coming up. This phase can take several hours depending on the thickness of the buildup.

Step 3: Rinse it Away

Immediately after scrubbing, bring in the water truck. Flush the surface with a high-volume spray. You want to push all that slurry off the side of the runway. Because Avion50 is 100% biodegradable and free of dangerous solvents like 2-butoxyethanol, it is safe for the vegetation and wildlife near the apron. The runoff actually contains zinc from the tires, which the grass absorbs as a nutrient (a process called phytoremediation).

Why This Beats High-Pressure Water Blasting

For years, the industry standard was ultra-high-pressure (UHP) water blasting. While effective, blasting water at 40,000 PSI is violent. It can strip the bitumen right out of asphalt, damage concrete joint seals, and even blast away your expensive runway markings.

Using airport snow removal equipment is non-destructive. The chemical does the heavy lifting, not brute force. This means you preserve the friction characteristics of your pavement and keep your paint looking fresh, saving you even more money on maintenance in the long run.

The Final Verdict

Switching to a chemical and mechanical removal method isn’t just about saving money—though it definitely does that. It’s about operational independence. You don’t have to wait for a contractor’s schedule to open up while your friction tests are failing. You can fire up your airport snow removal fleet, head out to the runway, and solve the problem yourself.

So, before you park those plows and brooms for the summer, consider keeping them handy. They might just be the most versatile tools in your arsenal.