Here are the best tips on maintaining and cleaning epoxy flooring.
There are so many of us who have parts of our house coated with epoxy and it has always been like that for years. Because of time and weather conditions, it is undeniable that they look really different from the way there were before and this is why many of us are wondering how much we should shell out to maintain it. The fact is, it’s not much.
You just have to make sure that you mop the epoxy flooring a few times a year, maybe twice or thrice. It can also help if you are going to do some vacuuming, but most of the things that you have to do are just spot cleaning. It doesn’t take much to have an attractive floor that you can show off to your guests. Arguably, it is better than using other material for your garage because they can have stain, dusting, and concrete wear issues.
It doesn’t matter where you are having your epoxy coating, may it be in your porch, sunroom, basement, or pole barn, the maintenance tips and proper usage are just basically the same. There may be one or two items below that can only apply for a more serious cleaning:
- If you are trying to find solutions for minor spills or some kind of vehicle dripping, you just have to use a paper towel or soft cloth to wipe them off.
- For a routine maintenance cleaning, you can simply use a bristle broom or you can go with a blue commercial dust mop, which you can get from any home improvement store.
- If you need to do some heavy cleaning because your epoxy floor is soiled, make sure that you sweep away all debris before you use a hard foam mop that is treated with clear ammonia and water. If you are wondering how much ammonia you should use to remove the soiling, you just need four to five ounces for every gallon of water.
- If you just had some winter road pre-treatment and you noticed that it has left a hazy film on the floor, there is also an easy way to solve it. All you need is hot water and a deck brush, which you can buy from a hardware store. Depending on the severity of the problem, you may be required to rinse it more times.
- For stains and rust, you will want to use kitchen scrubbing pad. But if you need a more intense solution because the stain is not going away, you need a good cleaning chemical and Soft Scrub is highly recommended. We are advising against Comet because they are very abrasive and they can be bad to the coatings.
- There are also times when you just have to hose out the floor and dry it with some spongy material.
- It is best that you avoid cleaning chemicals that are soap-based or those that contain acids such as vinegar or even citrus cleaners. We all know that soap-based cleaners can leave residue that can cause the epoxy flooring to get more slippery and detract from the shine.
- Make sure that you have a walk-off mat at the entrance so that those who come in can clean off their shoes from snow and water. You may want to have longer mats during the colder season.
- We can all agree how useful this life hack would be: place a mouse pad where your motorcycle kickstand lands so you can avoid the usual damage on the coating of the floor.
- Make sure that all areas were cleaned properly before you start lifting heavy loads using rolling jacks.
- If bearing heavy loads, it would be best if you place half-inch plywood pieces under jack stands.
- If you are welding above the epoxy coatings, make sure that you use proper welding mats.
Regular mopping is basically the best thing that you can do to make sure that no build-up of soapy residue will be left unattended. If you are having problems with this, just refer to number 3 above and you’re good to go.
There have been too many cases where homeowners like you have complained to having dull coatings. You just have to make sure that your cleaning method is not leaving off any residue that might have caused it.
Always remember that no matter how durable epoxy coatings are, they are not totally indestructible. If you encounter damages, it best that you get the help of a professional installation company so that they can do whatever repair it needs.
Stay tuned for more maintenance tips brought to you by AAA Concreting.