How to Care for your Concrete Floor
Concrete Floor Care Tips
Concrete floors are making a comeback. They’re one of the most affordable flooring choices, but they are also the greenest flooring option on the market today. That’s why they are an increasingly popular choice in upscale building projects. They can be made to resemble any material you’d like. However, concrete floors should not be treated like the wood or tile floors they may look like. Concrete Flooring Solutions have provided some tips for how to look after your concrete floor below:
Maintain Your Seal
Concrete floors are stain resistant as long as they are properly sealed. This makes them stain resistant and water resistant. Make certain that the new concrete floors are sealed before you risk pet or food stains on them. The good news is that concrete floor seals are low maintenance. However, this doesn’t mean they don’t need to be maintained. The sealant needs to be reapplied every few years.
You could add an extra layer of protection by waxing the floors. This will protect the floor from stains and abrasion. That layer will actually extend the life of the floor seal. Only use floor wax that is designed for concrete floors. Note that the floor wax will need to be reapplied far more often than the concrete seal.
Use the Right Type of Cleaners
Concrete floors can be swept with a broom without any problems. Your robot vacuum cleaner can wander the floors forever, and it won’t wear things out though it could wear out your carpet. You can run auto scrubbers or swing buffers on them. However, you should use a microfiber cleaning pad to minimize the wear on the concrete seal. The grooves in concrete will trap debris. This is true whether you have stamped concrete made to resemble tile or brick or saw cut patterns from the installation of the concrete floor. You can run over these areas with a vacuum cleaner to suck up the debris with minimal effort.
Concrete with or without a seal cannot be cleaned with any cleaning solution you want though. The concrete cleaner should be pH-neutral, especially if the floor is decorated with logos or colors. Avoid harsh cleaning products containing vinegar, bleach, ammonia, pine or citrus. Yes, this means your orange extract is fine on tile floors but shouldn’t be used on concrete floors.
What if your floors are unsealed? In this case, we’d still recommend cleaning with a broom or vacuum cleaner before you break out the cleaning solution. Use mild soap first, then strong soap. You can use ammonia on unsealed concrete, but it should only be a last resort. Power washing is a last resort, as well, and you need to make sure you dry out the concrete afterward. Then we’d recommend sealing the floor to make the next cleaning that much simpler.
Clean Up Toxic Messes Immediately
Biological messes include vomit, pee, poop and blood. If these messes come into contact with the concrete floor, clean them up as soon as possible so that they don’t permanently stain the floor. The sealant on the concrete should prevent it from being absorbed into the concrete, but you don’t know how tight the seal is in that location. And once something is absorbed into the concrete – including water stains – it is almost impossible to remove. This means you have to soak up standing water as soon as possible, too. That’s aside from the slip hazard wet floors create.
Set Up Floor Mats and Rugs
Floor mats outside the doors minimize how much debris is tracked inside. Floor mats inside the doorway and in your hallways trap debris you’ll otherwise have to sweep up. Rugs can trap debris, too.
Protect the Floors from Damage
Concrete floors are durable, but they are not immune to damage. Don’t let people drag heavy loads across the floor. If it cuts a groove into the concrete, you’ll never buff that scratch out. This has the side benefit of minimizing the risk the concrete cracks under the heavy load.