Polished concrete flooring has become more popular in recent years, surpassing traditional hard floor alternatives like vinyl composite tiles (VCT) in commercial buildings. Polished concrete flooring is durable, aesthetically pleasing, eco-conscious, and simpler to maintain. But easy maintenance doesn’t mean no maintenance. It’s important to care for your polished concrete flooring properly to ensure it looks and performs its best.
Check out these four tips for maintaining your polished concrete floors:
1. Don’t Neglect Regular Maintenance Needs
Although polished concrete floors don’t need to be waxed or sealed, they do need to be properly cleaned and looked after:
- Mop daily to get rid of abrasive grime and dirt.
- Wet mop as needed with a pH-neutral cleaner. Anything too acidic or alkaline will hurt the concrete, causing it to wear prematurely and lose its lustre.
- Treat concrete polished floors with the right floor pad. The best choice is a diamond-impregnated pad, made with synthetic or artificial hairs coated with diamond powders, epoxy binders, and secondary abrasives.
2. Put a Priority on Preventative Maintenance
It’s important to deal with spills as quickly as possible to prevent them from being absorbed into the concrete. You should consider applying a guard or coating to prevent stains and blemishes from sinking in, as they can be incredibly challenging to remove once they’re there.
Do you know the five benefits of getting day porter services for your building? Read our blog to find out!
3. Watch for Signs of Wear
You’ll want to keep an eye out for scuff marks and a loss of sheen. How quickly your floor will wear and how often it will need to be treated will depend on the amount of foot traffic your building receives:
- Light Traffic: For buildings like offices, reapplying a finish every few months is generally enough.
- Moderate Traffic: For locations like restaurants, you can expect to reapply finish roughly once a month.
- Heavy Traffic: For places like shopping malls and stadiums where people are constantly on the move, you’ll likely need to reapply finish a few times per month.
4. Apply Anti-Slip Coatings
An added benefit of polished concrete flooring is that it’s less slippery than traditional alternatives like VCT, though a few simple tricks will help make it even more slip resistant:
- Keep your floors clean to prevent oil, grease, and other contaminants from being left unattended.
- Use anti-slip conditioner, which improves traction. These products are designed to be mopped on easily.
- Apply sealer containing anti-slip grit additives. These add-ins are pre-mixed, so they don’t compromise on appearance.
- Use matting, especially in slip-prone areas around high-traffic entranceways.
To make hard floor maintenance easy, rely on an experienced cleaning company with the teams and know-how to keep your floors shining for years to come!
At Sunshine, we know that hard floors need special attention to ensure they’re cleaned and treated properly – and we have the teams and equipment to make that happen. Contact us today to discuss your cleaning needs!
Read more on Commercial Cleaning from Sunshine:
