One of the best things about epoxy floors is the beautiful shine it provides for your floors. Learning how to keep that shine is pretty simple and straightforward. In fact, one of the main reasons why epoxy flooring is a popular choice for floor coating is because of easy maintenance. Since your garage is one of the places where there’s a lot of traffic, it is essential to know how to maintain your epoxy flooring.
How to clean the garage epoxy floor? It’s pretty simple. Dusting and mopping at least once a week, cleaning spills immediately, and having a deep clean every three months will help maintain the shine and fantastic look for your garage epoxy floors.
Knowing how to keep your garage epoxy floor clean is not only for beauty purposes but also will save you a lot of money. In this article, you will learn how to clean your garage epoxy floors, tips, and tricks to maintain its shine and the don’ts when it comes to cleaning your floors.
How to Get Shiny Clean Garage Epoxy Floor
Epoxy flooring is not that hard to maintain; the process is pretty straightforward. However, there are a few guidelines on how you can adequately clean your garage epoxy floor. By making sure you perform general maintenance and general cleaning, you can have excellent garage epoxy floors.
Dusting and Mopping
Dust and dirt do not stick on epoxy flooring, which is why you can use a soft dust mop to clean the floor. Using a soft dust mop will prevent scratches and will protect your floors. It is best to use high-quality dust mops that you can buy online or your local home improvement stores. It would be best if you swept your floor regularly or as needed.
When it comes to mopping, it is best to use a soft bristle brush, especially if your floor has a strong anti-slip aggregate. Aside from using dust mops, you can also hose out the floor to remove any loose dirt that is present. To remove the excess water after hosing down your floor, use a squeegee. Once that’s done, allow the floor to air dry.
It is best to mop your epoxy flooring at most once a week or at least once a month.
Vacuum Any Construction Joints
When you see visible construction joints or saw cuts, it is best to clean them using your shop vac. It is also advisable to use a vacuum for those tough to reach spots. In order for you to get the best results, you should use a vacuum hose with a crevice tool. It is best to use a shop vac daily since mopping the floors this often will not be a great idea because it causes residue build up, which can make epoxy coating look dull.
Cleaning Spills
You can never really avoid spills, especially in your garage, where a lot of repairs are going on. However, when you find yourself with vehicle spilling or minor spills, make sure you clean it right away by wiping it with a clean, soft cloth or a paper towel. When you leave a spillage too long on an epoxy floor, it can be very difficult to remove and will damage the floor.
Now, if there’s a spill or stain that is hard to remove, it is best to remove it with a stiff nylon brush and water. You can also use a green scrub pad, but it can remove the shine on your floor. If the spill is sticky and leaves a film, it is best to use a gentle cleanser such as Windex.
Always be mindful when you’re scrubbing your floor with a green scrub or a nylon brush. It would help if you didn’t put too much pressure as it will ruin the coating of your floors.
Epoxy floor finish is such a cool option for your home garage. We like them so much we’ve created a bunch of articles on the subject. Here’s a few that you might find really interesting.
- 7 Alternatives To Epoxy Garage Floors
- Can Garage Floor Paint Be Used Outside – The Answer
- Top 10 – Alternatives To Concrete Garage Floors
- How To Make A Garage Door Airtight – Read This
- Can Vinyl Flooring Be Used In Garages? Read This Before Trying!
- Is An Epoxy Garage Floor Worth It? Our Balanced Review
Deep Cleaning
To keep your epoxy floor in excellent shape, it is best to perform a deep cleaning every three months. You can use cleaning solutions such as ammonia or non-toxic, biodegradable cleaning products like Simple Green. All you need is the right amount of water, and it will be safe for you to use on your epoxy floor.
The perfect mix of cleaning solution is ½ cup of Simple Green with a gallon of hot water. Another solution is ½ cup of ammonia with a gallon of hot water. However, you have to be careful when mixing your solution. If you make an over-concentrated solution, it can leave the film on your epoxy floor.
Now, there are also some instances where you would find yourself with tire marks on your epoxy floor. The best way to remove tire marks is to saturate the area with concrete degreaser products. Make sure to let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes. It is best to use a stiff bristle nylon brush to scrub the tire marks away. This process will only work for tire marks that are recently made. If it’s left for an extended period of time, you will have a harder time removing them.
For those stubborn spots, you can also use a stiff nylon brush on the area with the solution that is mentioned above. Continue scrubbing the area with stubborn spots until it’s gone. Once you’re done, rinse the area with a bit of water and dry it with a soft cloth.
Lastly, for rust stains or salt film, you can use a lactic acid-based cleaner. Create a solution that is one part lactic acid solution to one part warm water. Once that’s done, apply it to the affected area, scrub it with a brush, and rinse it with cold water. Make sure not to let the solution sit for more than two minutes since it can damage the floor.
Professional Cleaning Services
The best time to get professional services is when you know you can’t handle cleaning your garage epoxy floor yourself. If there are too many tough stains that are not salvageable by your ordinary solutions, make sure to contact your local professional cleaning services. There are a lot of companies that offer cleaning services for your garage epoxy floor.
The cost will depend on how big your garage floor is. With that said, when you contact the professionals, they will provide you with an estimate of how much it will cost to clean your flooring. If you don’t want the hassle in keeping your epoxy floors shiny, then hiring professionals is definitely worth it!
The Don’ts When Cleaning Your Garage Epoxy Floors
As mentioned above, it is not ideal to mop or clean your floor too frequently. The reason behind this is that it can cause soapy film and can dull the appearance of your epoxy floors. Do not use soap when you’re cleaning the floor because it leaves streak marks and a hazy film on the surface. It would also make your floor slippery whenever it’s wet.
When you use an abrasive and acidic cleaner, it can damage the epoxy coating. These types of cleaners can slowly degloss the finish and other epoxy floorings that you may have. It is never a great idea to use citrus cleaner or vinegar as well because these products can remove the shine on your epoxy floors.
Cleaning your garage epoxy floors is pretty straightforward. As long as you know the dos and don’ts, then you are good to go.
Maintaining That Beautiful Shine on Your Garage Epoxy Floors
There are different tips and tricks on how you can keep your epoxy floors beautiful and shiny. The first trick is if you own a motorcycle, make sure to put a mousepad under the stand so that you can avoid damages on the floor. Second, when you have ongoing repairs or constructions using welding equipment, it is best to use welding mats.
Third, make sure to place floor mats before entering the garage so that extra water, snow, or dirt will be removed. Having this habit will avoid any unnecessary stains that may incur when you enter your garage. Next, when bearing heavy loads, you should place half-inch plywood under a jack stand to avoid any damages on the floor.
The fourth tip is only to use safe products such as the cleaning solutions that are mentioned above. You will get the best result when the proper solutions are mixed together. Be mindful when choosing your cleaning products. Don’t buy any solution that has a lot of acidic content, though it might smell great; the acid will eat away your epoxy coating.
Lastly, the most important thing that you should remember is if you see any damages on the floor, have it fixed right away!
Conclusion
An epoxy floor is one of the popular choices when it comes to garage floors because it is easy to maintain and clean. Knowing the right way to clean your epoxy flooring is important. Cleaning too much can be harmful while not cleaning it at all is even worse. Simple cleaning habits like dusting and mopping the floor at least once a week is important.
Deep cleaning every three months can also keep the shine and beauty of your garage epoxy flooring. Depending on the traffic that your garage experiences, some people will find it necessary to clean their flooring more often than others. It doesn’t take rocket science to ensure that your epoxy flooring is clean! Simple solutions will give you outstanding results!
P.S.
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Steve
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