How to Clean Polished Concrete Floors
A beautifully polished concrete floor is now the premium choice for industrial, residential and commercial applications. This tough, durable finish can last for the lifetime of the building. A concrete floor’s light reflecting properties make it good to look at, and a pleasure to walk across.
One of the questions our clients always ask is how difficult it is to maintain the ‘just polished’ look. After all, it’s that which gives the polished concrete flooring its WOW factor! This is a great question and it requires a bit of unpacking to answer it properly. So we decided to put together this guide. A polished floor isn’t difficult to maintain, but it needs ongoing attention. We recommend the creation of daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routines, and a potential re-polish every few years.
Daily Cleaning Routine for Polished Concrete Floors
The reason that polished concrete floors can start to look dull is because of:
- A build up of dust and grime.
- Small scratches across the surface of the floor.
Cleaning techniques are all about minimising the impact of these two factors. Key to effective cleaning is routine; don’t wait for the floor to start looking dirty. At the end of each day clean the floor using a microfibre, or cotton dust mop. This ensures that dust particles and grit that could scratch the surface are removed regularly.
Weekly Cleaning Routine for Polished Concrete Floors
If you’ve been keeping to your daily dust mopping, the weekly wet mop should be a quick job. It’s a 3 step process:
Step One – damp mop your floor with a solution made up of warm water and a mild detergent. Use neutral pH cleaners only (avoid citrus, bleach, ammonia, or vinegar).
Step Two – Allow the floor to dry and then apply a wet mop, scrubbing the floor section by section. Keep the water clean and avoid spreading grit as this will scratch the surface.
Step Three – Damp mop the floor once more, to remove any residue that has been left behind.
Monthly Cleaning Routine for Polished Concrete Floors
The HTC Twister™ is a highly efficient polishing machine for concrete floor finishes. A range of cleaning pads, created using billions of microscopic diamonds, polishes your floor using just water. Regular HTC polishing removes stains and retains the pristine quality of the finish which provides the good looking lustre.
Re-polishing Your Polished Concrete Floors
On average your polished concrete floor will require a re-polish every couple of years, even if you’ve maintained a regular cleaning schedule. This process requires specialist materials and DirectStone have a team of experts who will:
- Diagnose the condition of your floor.
- Apply grinding tools if exposure of new aggregate is required.
- If the surface is in good condition, polish using HTC Superfloor™ to the desired finish.
Ongoing Maintenance of Your Polished Concrete Floors
Understanding the specific qualities of your flooring helps to make maintenance a matter of common sense. Concrete is porous by nature, which means that moisture will be easily absorbed. Should spillages occur they should be wiped up immediately to avoid etching and staining. It’s also worth using mats by doors to catch dirt before it hits the floor. These should be cleaned regularly as they trap grit which could be walked across your polished surface.
If your concrete floor needs a re-polish, or you have any questions about your cleaning routine, call us today on 01525 863920
