If you have concrete floors in your home, you must know how to clean them if you want to maintain them for years. If you’ve ever gone to a home depot or any of the other big box stores, then you should have walked on polished concrete.
You may have seen the maintenance crew using a big scrubbing machine on the floor. This big machine looks like a large box with a squeegee attached to the end of it and is called an auto scrubber. Auto scrubbers make cleaning larger square footage floors very easy.
If you don't have an auto scrubber, you still need to know how to clean concrete floors to preserve the polished look.
Polished concrete is often marketed as a maintenance-free floor, but that’s a marketing strategy, you need to clean your concrete floor from time to time if you want the polished look to the last longer.
5 Tips for Maintaining Concrete Floors
Dust Mop Daily Using a dust mop daily will greatly reduce the dirt and dust the concrete floor. It's the dirt and sand that get trapped in the pores of the concrete and when walked on, begin to erode and scratch, gradually reducing the beautiful reflection of the floor.
Wet Mop Your Concrete Floor Weekly
Using a wet mop or using a microfiber mop on your concrete floor weekly is highly recommended. If you have many microfiber mops, we recommend using a clean mop every 300-400 square feet and if you're using a traditional mop, change the water promptly. In a commercial setting, you may have access to an auto scrubber, which should be used. An auto scrubber is an amazing machine that makes cleaning your concrete floor easy.
Use a Neutral Floor Cleaner
When wiping your concrete floor, we recommend utilizing clean water with a neutral floor cleaner. Utilizing a neutral floor cleaner will clean without damaging the clean finish. Utilizing high basic cleaners like ammonia or degreasers all the time can begin to diminish the polished surface over time. Never utilize an acidic cleaner, for example, vinegar. Acids can scratch your solid floor and will damage your polished concrete floor.
Clean up Spills Immediately
Although your polished concrete floor was most likely sealed, concrete is porous and can absorb liquids. We recommend cleaning any spill immediately. The longer a contaminant is on the floor, the more likely it can absorb into the concrete and getting it stained.
Schedule Periodic Buffing with your Concrete Flooring Professional
Scheduled buffing or burnishing of your polished concrete floor will help preserve the reflective properties of your floor. How often this is done will depend on the traffic the floor gets. If it's a residential setting, it can be done every 2-3 years. High traffic floors, like a retail store or restaurant, could be done monthly or quarterly.
Knowing how to clean polished concrete floors is very important if you want to preserve the reflective properties of the floor. Ignoring or hoping it stays shiny and reflective is not advisable.
As a concrete polishing contractor, I'm always disappointed when I see a neglected polished concrete floor. Following the tips I've outlined above will help tremendously in preserving the polished finish, avoiding more honing or grinding in the future, which could cost more money during repairs.
Advantages of Polished Concrete
Lower Lifetime Costs
Virtually every business or private structure developed is built on a solid piece. By cleaning this current solid chunk and not purchasing or bringing in other ground surface materials, makes it the most effective choice for a completed floor.
Aesthetics
Of course, polishing concrete floors is the most economical flooring alternative available, but its aesthetics is important as well. They not only look great, but they can be compared to expensive looking natural stone. Adding color or staining concrete can add to the aesthetics and greatly improve the look of the whole room.
Staining can be done to the entire floor or in patterns, figures, and whatever creative designs you can think of. Also, logos and lettering can be stenciled on the floor adding a personal touch to the concrete design.
Reduced electricity bills.
Having a reflective concrete surface will increase the lighting in a building and therefore reduce the use of power, saving hundreds, or even thousands of energy bills per year.
Environmental Friendly
If you love helping the environment and using environmentally friendly materials in your home, then having a concrete polished floor is a great choice because it helps preserve the environment for production costs of materials and transportation costs bringing the material to the building.
When it comes to hiring professional polished concrete floor services in the Houston TX area, Bizfloors is the best. We strive to help educate our customers on the best protection they can have, helping them save time and money in costly refinishing costs.
Get in touch with us today for your Professional Polished concrete cleanings.