It is not as hard as you think, in fact with just good planning and discipline, together with the 3 tips below your polished concrete floors will not only look good, they’ll do so for over a decade before repairs.
- A Consistent Maintenance Schedule
- The Right Cleaning Equipment
- The Need and Correct Use of Sealers
- A Consistent Maintenance Schedule
This is perhaps the most important step.
They say that consistency is the key ingredient for accomplishing anything in life. They must have good schedule for their polished concrete floors. Anyway, it goes without saying that the schedule you create should match the foot traffic your floors receive.
You may want to set up an early morning and late evening schedule if you receive round the clock traffic. But if it’s periodic traffic, then once in the evening is great too. That’s it, that simple.
It really doesn’t take long for minute particles of debris like sand and dust to started slowly damaging your smooth finish.
In fact, many people fall for the sheen polished concrete floors maintain even after a few days of not cleaning. Don’t be many people. Because the minute particles cause something known as “sandpaper effect”.
Your concrete floors literally turn into sand paper like surface. It’s not always apparent, but it’s real. And it can more than gradually eat away the trademark smoothness of concrete. Leaving you with a not so beautiful and not so polished concrete floors.
- The Right Cleaning Tools
Imagine spending hours and hours cleaning your favourite sneakers with a stick and spit. That is what it’s like cleaning polished concrete floors with the wrong tools. It’s a massive waste of time and energy.
The toughness of concrete starts in the name, but that doesn’t mean concrete is not vulnerable at all. That’s why cleaning regularly and well is essential. There’re two methods: Automated and Manual.
Let’s start with Manual. Of course you want to sweep the floors first to get rid of the debris. Make sure you use a dust mop and is made of microfibers so as to protect the finish. The harsh brooms will definitely damage it.
Remember, you don’t want sandpaper for a floor.
A very important note: Spills should be cleaned up immediately. They may not look it, but concrete floors are porous. Cleaning spills ASAP reduces the amount of seepage into the floors.
Of course sometimes, or many times, chemical cleaners are required. You want to go for the pH neutral solutions. These have a particularly useful ability to suspend the minute particles making then a lot easier to remove.
Make sure the cleaner sits for a little while before mopping it off, but not too long that it dries up. Just long enough for the dirt and other substances to loosen up some more. Dried up cleaners cause discolouration and even a dull haze. Also to prevent the above, work in smaller areas at a time.
Another important note: If you are going to use a wet mop, always make sure both water and the mop are clean. That’s right, you got it: Harsh materials damage the finish turning the floors into sandpaper.
Let’s jump to automated cleaning equipment.
There are two words to remember: Pads and rubber. Pads should be on the automatic floor scrubber and rubber should be what the wheels of the automatic scrubber are made of. Remember harsh materials damage… you get it.
The pads vary in texture and colour and below are two of the best.
- White pads, and
- Soft beige pads
Though soft beige pads are good enough to prevent dulling, white pads on the hand, are so good that their highly recommended for high glossy floors.
- The Need and Correct Use of Sealers
This tip is special because it comes with a few warnings. Avoid waxing.
Many people don’t this but applying wax to your concrete floors voids the often needed warranty. Which is needless to say, it’s very bad. Also, the wax will build over time which will need to be removed causing discolouration — even with a good stain protector.
Adhesives like tapes are also not a good idea to have on your floors. When removed they too can cause damage. Degreasers too, avoid.
Now the sealers. Or as we like to call them, maintenance before maintenance. And yes, they are a must. We can’t ignore the fact that you can maintain the polished concrete floor’s sheen without sealers. But, it will require a lot more discipline which can be quite unnecessarily time consuming in the ever-busy modern world we live in.
The primary function of sealers is to literally seal the channels within the concrete that usually allow infiltration of liquids. That’s your biggest enemy, liquids. That’s why it is crucial that no water or any other type of liquids on the floors within three days after sealers are installed.
We have Penetrating, semi-Penetrating and Topical sealers.
Penetrating sealers are great against heavy foot traffic and large amounts of liquids that’s why they are highly favoured in industrial buildings. And while at it, they dramatically increase the glossiness. Very good for outdoors. However they do need reapplication as they are no match for time.
Semi-Penetrating sealers, AKA Guards, these are exactly that, semi. They are in between liquid repellent and a moderate increase in gloss. They are good for both outdoors and indoors.
Topical sealers are the most economical of the three. They are a little weaker than the other two but they do well in retail space. They have more vibrant colours and often glossier than even semi-Penetrating sealers.
Asking do polished concrete floors need to be sealed is the same as asking do frozen meats need to be packaged. Still wondering do polished concrete floors need to be sealed?
In short…
When it comes to caring for polished concrete floors you only need three things, a consistent schedule, the right tools and maintenance before maintenance which are sealer.
We hope less question marks pop-up around your forehead when you’re asked do polished concrete floors need to be sealed.
For more on caring for polished concrete floors contact www.nzpolishedconcretefloors.co.nz and leave comment if this article helped you in anyway.
