Let’s begin by saying concrete is a durable & pretty versatile material, and its popularity shouldn’t surprise anyone. Although it isn’t intended to be used in every room, it’s certainly not the best kitchen flooring option. However, there are plenty of upsides to using concrete; it is stain-resistant; you can stamp it with different designs, it offers plenty of flexibility in many places, and so on. However, concrete is porous and prone to become a place where mold and dirt like to build up. Therefore, it needs to be cleaned regularly. Of course, the methods you’ll utilize to clean concrete floors differ depending on the type of concrete we’re talking about. Thankfully, we’ve made a detailed guide you can follow!
#1 Preparation time (stands for all concrete surfaces, regardless of type)
First, you’ll need to prepare the surface you’re cleaning. Regardless of the type of concrete, you must make some necessary preparations.
Gather the ingredients
You’ll first need to obtain all the essential cleaning equipment you’ll need to prepare the floor:
- A broom and duster (or simply – a vacuum cleaner).
- A nylon-bristled brush.
- Some dish soap & water.
- Trisodium phosphate, laundry bleach, and some detergent.
- Kitty litter or cornstarch.
- Degreaser.
Clear the floor
The next thing you’ll want to do is to clear the floor of any furniture, decorations, various rugs & mats, shoes, etc. You’ll need to move any item on your floor outside the room. Also, if you’re planning to transfer your belongings to a storage facility (some folks find it easier to do just that), you’ll want to prepare the furniture for storage correctly to keep it safe while there. For instance, try not to cut any corners when it comes to packing materials.
Sweep & dust your floor
Next up, use your broom to take care of the dirt and debris that you’ve accumulated over time. This shouldn’t take much of your time, especially if you clean weekly. If the concrete floor is in good condition, you can pick up the dust with a vacuum.
Dealing with stains
Of course, your broom isn’t powerful enough to deal with some heavy stains. Anyway, if we’re talking about regular food/beverage stains, you’ll want to scrub the surface of the stain using hot & soapy water. On the other hand, if you want to clean concrete floors from oily stains, you’ll first need to wet the area with water and cover up the whole stain in dish soap. Next, dip the brush into warm water and scrub the stained area. Afterward, blot the suds with a towel and wash the area with clean water.
Mildew removal
If you’ve got to deal with mildew, you’ll need to mix one ounce each of laundry detergent and trisodium phosphate with one quart of laundry bleach and three quarts of water and utilize a soft brush on the area. Afterward, rinse the area with regular, clean water. It’s also a good idea to air the room, to let the chemicals evaporate.
Tire marks removal
If it’s your garage floor we’re talking about there, you’ll need to spray the area where you’ve noticed tire marks with water and apply a degreaser. Once you’ve done that, let the whole thing sit for 3-4 hours, scrub the area with a brush, and rinse.
Grease removal
Lastly, if you want to remove grease and clean your concrete floors, spread some kitty litter or cornstarch over the stained area and let it sit for a couple of days. Once the proposed time has passed, vacuum or sweep up the stain and dispose of it.
#2 It’s cleaning time (how to clean stamped or polished concrete floors)
As was the case with the section above, the first thing you’ll want to do is to obtain the necessary ingredients (equipment). Here are the things you’ll need:
- An ordinary mop.
- A large bucket of warm water.
- A mild, ph-neutral cleaner (mild dish soap, or Castile soap).
Fill the bucket with water
Next up, fill the bucket with one gallon of warm water. Add about a one-eight or one-quart cup of mild dish soap or any other ph-neutral solution.
Slightly dampen the mop
Dunk the mop into the bucket. Afterward, wring it out thoroughly; it should still be slightly damp. That’s because you want the floor to dry out quickly. Excess water sitting there forever shouldn’t be your goal.
Clean the floor in small sections
Next, you’ll need to clean the floor in small sections, beginning with the corner furthest from the door and making your way towards them. Of course, re-dip/wring the mop frequently. If you’ve got an oscillating fan, turn it on so the floor would dry quicker.
Handle the excess soap
Lastly, you’ll want to do away with all the excess soap. Once you’ve cleaned the entire floor, dump the bucket’s contents into the toilet, rinse it with your mop, and refill it with warm water. Repeat the whole process from the above paragraph to deal with excess soap.
#3 How to clean concrete floors in garage
Here we’ll show you how to clean garage/exterior concrete floors. We don’t need to emphasize that a dirty garage’s no sight to see, especially if the previous owner left a lot of stains. Like any part of the post-move cleanup, you’ll need to do this right away, as soon as you’ve moved in. Thankfully, this type of cleaning should be pretty straightforward.
Gather supplies
Let’s try not to repeat ourselves here. Here are the things you’ll need to clean the garage or exterior concrete floors:
- A power washer (or an ordinary garden hose).
- A push broom with stiff, nylon bristles.
- A cleaning solution (trisodium phosphate, for instance).
Deal with any moss or weeds that might’ve grown on concrete
Thankfully, this price is fairly simple. Do away with any moss or roots that might’ve found their home on your exterior concrete. Use your hands to pull them up and sweep, hose down, or pressure wash the place where it once stood to handle all the remaining dirt & debris.
Spray the dirty concrete
First of all, open up your garage door (if applicable). Move towards the door and the lawn using the pressure washer or your garden hose, spraying the floor in broad, sweeping strokes to deal with the dirt. Make sure you deal with corners, cracks (and here’s how you’ll repair concrete cracks), and crevices.
Cover the concrete with a cleaning solution
You’ll need to cover the concrete floors with a dusting of your cleaning solution (trisodium phosphate). Here’s how you’ll do this: make sure the floor is still wet, put the broom at one end of your garage/exterior concrete, spring the cleaner on the floor starting from the opposite end and work your way toward the broom. Afterward, scrub the floor with the broom in a thorough manner. Lastly, rinse the flow with clean water working your way to the lawn from the opposite end of your garage. You can inspect the concrete for cracks to see if it needs repair.
Final words
We’ve covered how you can clean concrete floors for interiors and outdoor surfaces. Hopefully, you’re happy with this easy-to-understand-and-implement process. We’re sure you’ll have no trouble keeping your concrete floors clean!
