Commercial Painting Contractors

Concrete Flooring Maintenance Tips

  • When it comes to choosing flooring for your commercial facility, few other choices offer the return on investment than concrete. Warehouses, retail stores, storage facilities, municipal buildings: this is just a short list of businesses that should consider concrete because of its many benefits. 

    Not only is concrete durable, weather-resistant, sustainable, and cost-effective, it’s also a low maintenance flooring. While it doesn’t take much to keep your floors looking like new, it does require regular TLC by both your facility manager and outside professionals with the experience and expertise needed to care for concrete flooring.

    Cleaning

    If you do nothing else to maintain your concrete flooring, keep it clean. It seems like a no-brainer, but there are some tips you should keep in mind — especially if your floors are polished concrete. Although they’re resilient and not easily stained, they can collect dirt and be exposed to moisture and even mildew.

    One of the easiest ways to clean concrete flooring is by regular mopping, either with damp or dry mops. Use a cleaner that’s pH-neutral for high-traffic areas, and maybe even call in a professional team to keep up with a consistent schedule and save time. Solutions that contain ammonia, bleach, or commercial chemicals should be avoided when cleaning your polished or decorated concrete flooring.

    Sealing

    Another way to keep dirt, debris, and stains from dulling your concrete flooring is by having it professionally sealed. Sealing occurs during installation and generally every 2 to 5 years after that, depending on how your facility is used and how much foot traffic it sees. A professional team with experience in concrete flooring will help adjust this timeline.

    Along with use and traffic, another consideration is the climate. Extreme weather conditions will affect the longevity of your concrete flooring — think about the salt and snow of St. Louis winters and how that can add dramatic wear as visitors travel through your facility. Sealants are a cost-effective way to mitigate that wear, and a professional will help you understand the best way to clean floors after they’ve been sealed.

    Polishing

    Low-traffic commercial concrete flooring that doesn’t necessarily get exposed to chemicals or outside elements can be polished. This is a process that doesn’t use any sealer, finishes, or wax, and creates a high-gloss surface that improves the overall look of your facility. This process is ideal for healthcare and wellness settings.

    Polishing should be done by professionals as it requires specialized equipment that users need to be trained to operate. It can be performed as a part of a new concrete flooring install or part of a renovation that works to restore old flooring to its former glory, making it much easier to clean and maintain.

    Waxing

    Take protection one step further by waxing commercial concrete floors that may be more prone to chemical exposure, stains, grease and oil, and high volumes of dirt and debris. Commercial-grade waxing goes on top of the last layer of sealant and can help remove stains and scratches when they do happen.

    Adding wax to your floor is also a cosmetic upgrade. It can restore the shine of your commercial flooring to look like it was when it was new. It can also improve the appearance of cleanliness and give the impression you care about maintaining your facility; something your employees and customers will notice.

    Repair

    Knowing how to clean and maintain your concrete flooring is important, but even the most rigorous efforts can’t stop deeper damage. To deal with this, you should know how to repair commercial flooring and who to call for those repairs to be completed by a professional team.

    Make floor inspections a part of regular maintenance checks, and address cracks, gouges, and deep scratches as soon as they appear. While they may not seem like a big deal, they could get worse over time and even impact the structure of your facility. Before patching up this damage, find the cause to ensure that something else besides regular wear and tear isn’t to blame. If left unrepaired, this damage could become much more costly to fix.

    Ultimately, the best way to maintain your commercial concrete flooring is by partnering with experienced professionals — like SmithPro. Our services include floor staining, coating, and polishing for commercial, industrial, and high-end residential projects. We can also help advise owners and facility managers on the best way to clean, repair, and maintain concrete flooring and which products to use while doing so. If you want your floors to look shiny and presentable, consider giving us a chance.

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