Aside from epoxy floors being the Marilyn Monroe of flooring, two things we love about these floors are their durability and ease of cleaning and maintenance.
However, special care needs to be taken to ensure the epoxy floor is kept clean all the time regardless of whether it’s installed in the garage, living area, industrial environment, commercial center, or high-traffic hallways.
This guide will show you how to maintain, clean epoxy floor, and keep it shining for a long time coming.
How to Clean Epoxy Garage Floors
Performing routine maintenance cleaning on your epoxy floor is enough to keep it clean, sparkling, and make it last long for you. And here’s how to go about that;
1. Keep the surfaces dirt and grit-free
If you allow dirt and grit to remain on your epoxy floor, they can embed in the epoxy and scratch the floor coating over time. This is especially so when you’re always moving heavy machinery or cars on your epoxy garage floors.
To avoid this, regularly use a soft dust mop or a shop vacuum with a soft brush attachment to sweep away sand, dirt, and loose debris from the epoxy floor. You can do this once or twice a week depending on the amount of dirt your epoxy garage accumulates.
And if your epoxy garage floors have got an anti-slip aggregate (like aluminum oxide) added to its formulation, you’ll be better off using a soft bristle push broom than a regular dust mop: this is more effective against dirt for such floors.
Epoxy flooring surface is tough, resilient, and resistant to abrasion, but that doesn’t mean prolonged exposure to grime, dirt, and grit can’t damage it over time.
So to extend the lifespan of your flooring surface, take extra precautions to make sure your epoxy floor is always free of dirt.
2. Spot cleaning
Epoxy floors exhibit excellent water resistance, and this makes it super easy to clean liquid spills off the floors.
So when you’ve got water, spills, or dirt that needs to be attended to immediately, you don’t need to wait till your next scheduled date to clean the whole commercial, garage or industrial floor.
Spot cleaning can do the magic; plus, it’s easy to do. Simply vacuum the spilled liquid alongside every dirt in that area with a shop vacuum. Then wipe the area with a mop and warm water. And if the affected area is very small, a soft scrub pad will be OK.
But be careful not to scrub too hard so you don’t degloss the epoxy surface.
3. Cleaning oils, car chemicals, and other chemicals
It’s a known fact that compared to other resin floors, most epoxy floor solutions are not so resistant to many chemicals.
Engine oil particularly contains chemical agents that can be harmful to your epoxy coating. Hence, the more reason you shouldn’t allow this and any other chemical to sit on your epoxy floor for long.
So to protect your epoxy floor coating, wipe up the following liquids and chemicals with a shop towel or paper towel as soon as possible;
- Engine oil spills
- Gas spills
- Paint
- Antifreeze
- Harsh household cleaners
- Abrasive or coarse liquids
- And other chemicals from cars
Also, use a gentle cleanser like Windex if the spill is sticky or leaves a film on your epoxy floors. To ensure the durability of your epoxy, the best thing you can do is to clean it immediately these chemicals come in contact with it.
It’s also advisable you keep a neutralizing agent in your garage. You can first neutralize the chemicals before washing them with water and using a soft cloth or squeegee to drain liquid.
Always clean the epoxy floor so these chemicals don’t discolor and possibly reduce the performance of your floor.
4. Cleaning stains from epoxy flooring
You can use warm water and a kitchen scrubbing sponge or a soft deck brush to get rid of stains like rust. However, you should scrub lightly for the best results.
And avoid using steel wool and harsh chemicals like Comet.
Deep Cleaning and Removing Tough Stains from your Epoxy Garage Floor
You should strive to deep clean your epoxy floor coatings once a month. To do this, you’ll have to move your tools, vehicles, and other items out of the way so you can reach hidden areas.
When you do this, you’ll be able to keep your epoxy garage floor in good shape and prolong its lifespan.
There are some stains and marks that won’t come off by only using a mop. You’ll need something more powerful in situations like these. But first, what cleaner is safe to use on epoxy floors?
What is the best cleaner for epoxy floors?
Diluted ammonia is the best epoxy floor coating cleaning solution, and it’s simple to make.
You can make this cleaning solution at your home or workshop by adding half cup of ammonia to a gallon (3.8 L) of hot water (that is, 2 – 3 ounces of ammonia per gallon of hot water). With this preparation, this cleaner is completely safe for your epoxy floors.
Another very effective epoxy flooring cleansing solution is diluted Simple Green Epoxy Cleaner. Simply add half cup of Simple Green to 1 gallon of hot water (that is, 1 part of Simple Green to 8 parts of hot water). This cleaner is also safe, but ensure the cleaner isn’t too concentrated as it can leave a film on your epoxy floor.
And finally, another great cleansing solution for epoxy floors is Windex. Mix Windex with water in this ratio: 1 part of Windex to 3 parts of water. This will do an amazing job in cutting through residue without leaving a film on your epoxy floor surface.
Whichever mixture you prefer, mix both the cleaner and water in a bucket.
But first, you’ll want to remove furniture or anything that will stand in your way from cleaning thoroughly. Then remove the excess dirt with a broom before vacuuming.
And after that, you can apply the solution to your epoxy floor with a hard foam mop or microfiber cloth. Then rinse off the detergent with clean water and leave to air-dry or use a soft towel.
1. Remove stubborn stains with a stiff nylon brush
Now you’ve got your home-made cleaner, you can clean the stubborn stains and spots on your epoxy floor with either your Simple Green or ammonia solutions.
Then scrub the floor with a stiff nylon brush. Repeat till all stains are gone, and rinse with water and dry with a towel when you’re done.
2. Clean tough rust stains with a lactic acid-based cleaner
Some rust might require more than a scrubbing sponge and water to go off.
So for this, you’ll have to prepare a lactic acid-based cleaner solution. You can do this by adding equal parts of the lactic acid-based cleanser (like CLR) and water (that is, 1 part lactic acid-based cleaner and 1 part water).
So you’ll have to apply this solution directly to the area and scrub with a scrub brush to clean your epoxy floor. For best practices, the cleanser SHOULDN’T sit on your garage floor for MORE THAN 2 MINUTES, and don’t forget to rinse with cold water.
You can also use this cleansing solution to get rid of salt film and grease on your epoxy floor surface.
3. Remove tire marks with a degreaser
It’s very common to have tire marks on your garage floors. But getting them off is not really a problem if you know what to do.
The only thing is that you’ll have to get the marks off immediately they’re made, as they’ll be difficult to come off if they stay long on the floors.
Saturate the area you’ve got the tire marks with a concrete degreaser product, and leave it for 5 – 10 minutes. Then scrub with a stiff very hard with a stiff bristle nylon brush. You might need to reapply the cleanser and scrub a few more times if the stain remains.
After you scrub the marks are off, rinse with water and dry with a towel.
Maintaining your Epoxy Floor
1. Treat your epoxy garage floor like the other rooms in your house
Ensure to use a walk-off mat at the entrance of your garage. This will collect dirt, sand, and moisture from under your feet and save you from cleaning your floors all the time.
Also, use soft pads under bicycle and motorcycle kickstands. you don’t need anything fancy: a computer mouse pad will suffice.
Also, place a piece of cardboard if you’re going to leave your car in the garage for a long time.
2. Use a welding mat
If you weld in your home, factory, or warehouse, this mat can help you prevent damage from being done to your epoxy floors.
You can still take extra care by placing heavy equipment or tools on plywood to ensure too much pressure is not applied to your epoxy floor.
Even though epoxy coatings are very durable, you can make them more durable by adhering to these epoxy maintenance best practices.
3. Strictly avoid these floor cleaning products
When cleaning your epoxy floors, AVOID USING citrus cleaners or vinegar as they contain acids that can degloss you’re the finish of your epoxy floor coatings.
Also, avoid using soap-based cleaners as they can leave streak marks or a residue on your epoxy coating surface.
Soap-based cleaners are capable of dulling the shine of your epoxy floors and also making the floors more slippery when it gets wet.
In conclusion
Caring for epoxy floors, as we’ve seen, isn’t difficult.
As simple as sweeping regularly (more like every day) can work wonders. And if you adhere to these simple practices in caring for your epoxy floor, you should be fine, and the floor will also last longer than you expect.
And if you’re too busy to undertake the thorough cleaning by yourself, you can always contact professional epoxy floor cleaners to help out.
FAQs
How can I sterilize my epoxy floors without stripping the epoxy?
A simple and safe way to sterilize epoxy floors without stripping the epoxy coating is by mopping the floor with a mixture of one-third (1/3) cup of regular dish-washing liquid and 5 liters of warm water.
This is completely safe and it won’t leave a film or strip your epoxy.
Can you pressure wash epoxy garage floors?
Yes, you can. But you don’t need to because epoxy floors are easy to clean. Cleaning with a mop and a bristle brush is okay to do the cleaning job.
