Cleaning your concrete floors may seem like a daunting task, but it is a straightforward task. The key to maintaining the pristine quality of your concrete floor is ensuring they are protected with a good floor sealer, which will help resist water, dirt, and stains. Whether your Concrete flooring is sealed, painted, or stained, it is important that you wash and mop every one to two weeks. We have compiled a list of products and tips to have your Concrete flooring look its best.
Some Materials you will need are; Note it is important to know what type of finish is on your concrete flooring (ect. Sealed, polished, stained, painted, unsealed)
Broom, dust mop, or vacuum
Wet mop and bucket
Commercial Polished Concrete cleaner (polished Concrete)
All-purpose cleaner (painted Concrete)
Trisodium phosphate (TSP) (unsealed Concrete)
Neutra Clean (Sealed Concrete, but works well with all finishes)
Once your tools and materials are ready, you will want to follow the following simple steps depending on your concrete flooring type.
Sealed Concrete Floors:
1) Sweep, vacuum, or dust mop the floor to prevent scratches from dirt and grit.
2) Mix 1 gallon of warm water with 4oz of neutra clean and mop the floor with the solution. If you are prepping the floor to apply sealer its best if you use E-etch prior to re applying your sealer. This will help adhere better.
3) It can be quite a soapy mixture so you may have to go back over it again with the clean water to remove any soapy residue.
Polished Concrete Floors:
1) Sweep, vacuum, or dust mop the floor to prevent scratches from dirt and grit.
2) Use a commercial polished Concrete cleaner that is pH neutral. You don’t want to use anything that is too strong as it could damage the finish on the floor.
Painted Concrete Floors:
1) Sweep, vacuum, or dust mop the floor to prevent scratches from dirt and grit.
2) Mix a cleaning solution with warm water that uses a microfiber-specific mop that is damp, do not use excessive water as it will cause the paint to peel.
3) Rinse the floor with a damp mop with plain water to remove any soapy residue.
Unsealed Concrete Floors:
1) Sweep, vacuum, or dust mop the floor to prevent scratches from dirt and grit.
2) One of the best ways to clean an unsealed floor that you are planning on applying sealer afterwards would be E-etch, this is a 50:50 mix ratio with water and scrubbed into the floor. Be sure to rinse it well with water afterwards and a mixture of Neutra Clean. More instructions can for mixing and cleaning in this blog.
3) Another way to clean unsealed Concrete flooring is through pressure washing with a solution of trisodium phosphate and water. If you don't have a pressure washer, a garden hose and push broom will work.
3) Make sure to give the area a good rinse to ensure that the cleaning solution is thoroughly removed from the area.
E-etch from Unicon is a product we recommend having your Concrete floors look their best. It is a part of a two-part cleaning system. Both of these can be done with a soft bristle broom or mop. Be sure to rinse and wash it with Neutra clean afterwards.
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