How To Clean The White From Cement Basement Floor After Water Damage

Many of u.s. have concrete floors in our basements. This is usually the original flooring, and information technology seems like a nice low-maintenance floor for an extra living space. Merely how many of u.s. actually know how to clean a concrete basement floor?

We often retrieve of concrete floors as low maintenance. But low maintenance doesn't mean no maintenance! While they certainly don't demand the aforementioned attention every bit rug or hardwood floors, they do demand some maintenance if they are going to continue looking expert and pass the exam of time.

In today's article, we are going to await at exactly how to clean cement basement floors. We'll await at the procedure involved, the all-time cleaning products to use and ones to be avoided, and likewise the other picayune things y'all should be doing to maintain your basement concrete.

So, read on to learn the best fashion to clean your concrete basement floor.

How To Make clean Your Concrete Basement Flooring
Sealed vs Unsealed Concrete
Cleaning Agents
Cleaning Agents To Avoid
Protect And Maintain Concrete Floors
FAQs
The Verdict

How To Clean Your Concrete Basement Floor

one. Start By Removing As Much As You lot Can From The Flooring.
ii. Thoroughly Sweep Or Vacuum To Remove Droppings.
iii. Treat Any Stains.
4. Scrub Your Flooring With Your Chosen Cleaning Product.
five. Thoroughly Rinse Your Flooring.
6. Permit The Floor Dry Thoroughly Before Returning Furniture And Using The Room.

There is no i manner to make clean a basement flooring, just there are expert principles to follow to brand sure you become it right. It'south pretty simple, and y'all should take the time to exercise this kind of thorough clean at least twice a twelvemonth.

1. Outset By Removing Equally Much As You Can From The Floor.

Cleaning around things means more work for y'all, and you are likely to push dirt and debris underneath things as office of the cleaning process, meaning at that place volition be hidden spots of your floor that are still dirty.

How To Clean Your Concrete Basement Floor

If you lot tin can't move everything out of the room, clean the room in two halves, moving everything to one side of the room and cleaning the other side, then vice versa.

2. Thoroughly Sweep Or Vacuum To Remove Debris.

You don't want to get out any grit and debris on your floor when you add your cleaning agent, as dust plus water equals sludge.

Y'all are ameliorate off using a hardwood floor vacuum cleaner than a standard carpet vacuum. While your concrete slab probably won't be damaged by the carpeting vacuum's beater bar, the sucking engineering science of carpet vacuums is unlike from difficult floor vacuums, and then yous'll selection up debris more easily with a hard floor vacuum.

Bank check out our list of the best vacuums for difficult flooring here.

iii. Care for Any Stains.

If you are dealing with specific stains such every bit rust or efflorescence (a crystalline or powdery deposit), you lot are going to want to treat those stains before y'all practise your overall make clean. How this is best done depends on the type of stain. You lot'll discover recommendations for the best cleaning products for different types of stains farther down.

iv. Scrub Your Floor With Your Called Cleaning Production.

Again, which cleaning product is right for you depends on the type of concrete you have (sealed or unsealed), and the blazon of staining that you lot might be dealing with. Scroll down for more than information on this.

But whatever product you apply, yous will probably dilute the agent in water, utilize it to your flooring, and then you volition want to get scrubbing.

Employ a wire brush to work the cleaner into the physical. But don't use a metal wire brush, as tiny bits of metal tin suspension off these brushes and get stuck in the pores of the concrete. Over time they will rust, discoloring and dissentious your floor.

If you are using a cleaner that gives off fumes, make certain the infinite is besides ventilated as possible throughout the cleaning process.

5. Thoroughly Rinse Your Flooring.

You lot are going to want to thoroughly rinse the cleaning production off the concrete when you are done. Starting time of all, it is the rinsing that leaves your flooring clean, as the cleaning solution takes dirt away with it. Secondly, cleaning residue can stain, and can also be toxic if it transfers from the floor onto your peel. This is specially problematic if yous accept children or animals.

If you have a drain, great: Get-go in the corner of the room furthest away from the drain and work toward it. If you don't, work toward a place where the water can be pooled to be removed.

When it comes to rinsing, a ability washer can exist a not bad tool.

A moisture dry/store vac is also a good tool. Information technology can exist used every bit part of the scrubbing process, and also to rinse and remove cleaning products and liquids.

You can find our list of the 5 best moisture/dry out shop vacs here, as well equally instructions and tips on how to use them.

6. Let The Flooring Dry out Thoroughly Before Returning Furniture And Using The Room.

Depending on the type of concrete you have, if it is exposed to wet, you can develop mold and mildew. Minimize the likelihood of that past making sure the expanse is thoroughly dry before returning items that might trap moisture or hinder the drying process.

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Sealed vs Unsealed Concrete

While the overall cleaning process is the aforementioned whether your physical is sealed or unsealed, yous exercise need to use a flake more care if y'all are dealing with unsealed concrete. Why?

Sealed physical has been treated with a waterproofing agent that stops water from soaking into your concrete. This means that spills shouldn't soak in, and that you can apply water liberally when cleaning.

Unsealed concrete does non take this protection, so water soaks into the porous physical. This means that spills tend to stain, and, if you aren't conscientious, you can make staining look worse when cleaning.

So, if you accept unsealed floors, dry clean as much as possible using the minimum amount of h2o. This means it will be easier to remove and dry faster, then there is less adventure of residual liquid dissentious your flooring.

If you practise observe that yous accept unsealed concrete in your basement, it is a skillful idea to become ahead and seal it. There are a variety of products available to do this, for instance:

KILZ Interior/Exterior Concrete, Brick, and Tile Liquid Mason Sealer
Phenomenon Sealants Impregnator Penetrating Sealer
Essential Values Concrete Sealer – Acrylic Emulsion Formula

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Cleaning Agents

pH Neutral Cleaner – Solar day-To-Twenty-four hour period Cleaning
Blistering Soda – Chemical-Free Cleaning
Lye Soap – General Cleaning
Degreaser – Grease And Oil Stains
Dry out Cement – Rust Stains
Trisodium Phosphate – Gum Stains
Wash Solution – Deep Cleaning

There are many dissimilar cleaning agents you can utilize to successfully make clean the physical floors in your basement. Which is right for you depends on personal preference and what kind of stains y'all are dealing with.

Beneath is a list of the best cleaning agents for concrete and when it is all-time to use them.

pH Neutral Cleaner – Day-To-Day Cleaning

If you are looking for a commercial cleaner for your physical, make sure y'all become something that is pH neutral. These types of cleaners won't damage your sealer if your physical is sealed, and are also non-corrosive, so they won't eat away at your concrete over fourth dimension.

Baking Soda – Chemical-Free Cleaning

If yous are looking for an alternative to the chemical-based cleaners yous tin purchase, brand your own with blistering soda. Simply mix half a loving cup of blistering soda with a gallon of warm water and a mild cleaner such equally dish detergent, and yous accept a cleaner powerful enough to remove all of your stains, all without nasty chemicals.

Lye Soap – Full general Cleaning

Good old-fashioned soap is i of the best agents for cleaning your floor. Though look for lye soap or, alternatively, something that is olive oil-based. These are strong enough to remove even the toughest stains but won't damage your concrete.

Degreaser – Grease And Oil Stains

If you are dealing with grease or oil stains, look for a soap or cleaner that besides contains degreaser. The degreaser penetrates into the concrete and lifts away grease and oil when rinsing. Withal, it is non-corrosive, so it volition leave your concrete intact.

Dry Cement – Rust Stains

If you lot are dealing with rust, you are going to have better luck with abrasion than with detergent. Simply sprinkle dry cement onto the stained expanse and rub it in with a piece of flagstone. This acts like a kind of pumice stone to remove the rust. You can then sweep or vacuum up both the dry cement and the rust.

Trisodium Phosphate – Glue Stains

Trisodium phosphate is the cleaning solution yous demand if you accept glue stains on your physical, maybe from an former flooring covering such as carpet. Mix three ounces of trisodium phosphate with a gallon of warm water and let the solution sit for an 60 minutes. When you start scrubbing, the glue should come up up with relative ease.

Launder Solution – Deep Cleaning

If yous feel like you need to give your basement flooring a really deep make clean, consider using a wash solution. These contain 70 percent alcohol, which makes them effective and also means they don't evaporate. This in turn means that y'all have more fourth dimension to work when doing a deep clean.

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Cleaning Agents To Avoid

Ammonia
Bleach
White Vinegar

While we have a nice long list of cleaners that are great for using on concrete floors, we also have three mutual cleaners that are all-time avoided when working with concrete.

Ammonia

Nosotros have two very proficient reasons why you should avoid using ammonia for cleaning concrete basements. First, information technology can break down concrete sealant, doing more than harm than skillful to your floors. Secondly, it produces a poisonous gas that is terrible for your lungs if you breathe it in, and also irritates the optics. Basements don't tend to be the best ventilated rooms, and so ammonia is best avoided.

Bleach

Bleach has like problems to ammonia. Offset, information technology can atomize your physical floor if used over a period of time. Second, bleach also tends to produce chemic fumes that are not proficient for yous, and you don't want to exist breathing them within the enclosed space of your basement.

White Vinegar

White vinegar and other acidic cleaners should also be avoided when cleaning physical. The vinegar can strip away the sealing glaze and get out your concrete floors vulnerable to further water damage. In the example of unsealed physical, it can etch into the concrete and modify the overall finish of your floor.

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Protect and Maintain Concrete Floors

Regularly cleaning your concrete floors is important to go along them looking good. But if you really desire to maintain your floors, in that location are a diversity of things that you should be doing to keep your concrete in tip-height shape.

Sweep or vacuum regularly. How regularly depends on traffic, but minimizing debris minimizes the chance of dissentious abrasions.
Damp mop regularly. Again, how regularly depends on the type of utilize your flooring gets. But a quick damp mop once a week to target stains you lot tin can't see ways that yous can option upwards on stain-causing agents before they have a chance to set in.
Clean up spills as they happen. This is specially important with unsealed concrete, as liquids tin soak in rapidly. But it is ever a skilful idea to make clean up liquids earlier they have a chance to stain.
Deal with cracks. If you come across a little crack develop in your concrete, don't get out information technology assuming that it isn't a big deal. Clay can easily go trapped in these tiny grooves.
Seal your physical. If your concrete isn't sealed, it is a proficient idea to do so. This will make it more resistant to water damage and abrasion impairment over time.
Invest in a dehumidifier. If you notice yourself repeatedly dealing with moisture-related stains such as white efflorescence stains, this is a sign that there is too much wet attacking your concrete. Invest in a dehumidifier to limit this problem.

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FAQs

How Practise Y'all Clean An Unsealed Concrete Basement Floor?
What Is The Best Physical Flooring Cleaner?
What Kills Mold On Physical Floors?
Can I Mop A Basement Concrete Floor?
Can I Force per unit area Wash A Concrete Flooring?

How Practice Y'all Clean An Unsealed Concrete Basement Floor?

The process for cleaning unsealed physical floors is the same equally for sealed concrete floors, except that you want to be careful not to let cleaning agents or water, used to rinse cleaning agents, sit on the floor for too long. If the liquid sits, information technology can soak into the concrete and cause further staining.

Dry clean as much as possible, and remove liquid as quickly as possible, perhaps using a wet/dry store vac to remove sitting liquids.

What Is The Best Physical Floor Cleaner?

The best concrete floor cleaner depends on the type of stains that y'all are dealing with. Even so, if you lot are looking for a skillful overall cleaner, get something with a neutral pH balance, or utilise baking soda or lye lather.

Y'all take other options if you are dealing with specific types of stains such as grease or glue. Avoid cleaners containing ammonia or bleach, as these can be corrosive on your floors, and they as well requite of poisonous fumes that are not good for you.

What Kills Mold On Physical Floors?

Dish soap or lye lather should effectively remove mold that may have adult on concrete. If this proves ineffective, you tin can try bleach. However, bleach should not be used as a regular concrete cleaner, every bit it can erode the concrete over time.

Also make sure that the room is well ventilated when using bleach as it tin requite of poisonous fumes that are not good for your lungs and tin irritate your optics.

Can I Mop A Basement Physical Floor?

Yes, yous tin mop your concrete floor, and it is a adept thought to practise this on roughly on a weekly basis to pick upwards on any spills, visible or invisible, that might stain your concrete if left to sit.

If your concrete floor is sealed, y'all tin can safely wet mop your floor. Nonetheless, if it is unsealed, dry mop and remove wet as speedily every bit possible. Sitting moisture tin soak into the concrete and cause new staining.

Tin I Pressure Wash A Concrete Floor?

Yes, force per unit area washing is a great mode to clean sealed concrete floors. It is all-time avoided for unsealed floors, as they are likely to absorb much of the h2o that floods your basement. A force per unit area washer will be able to remove most stains without any cleaning agent, including grease, rust, and mold.

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The Verdict

Deciding to leave your physical basement floors exposed does not mean resigning yourself to having "slightly grimy" floors in your basement. Concrete floors are easy to maintain, and you can go on them looking like new, as long equally you clean and maintain them properly.

In addition to regular sweeping or vacuuming and mopping, you should be giving your basement physical floor a thorough clean at least twice a year. This is simple to do and means that your floors will e'er look sparkling and fresh.

Practice you lot have physical floors in your basement? How practise y'all keep them clean? Share your tips with the community in the comments section beneath.

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Source: https://floorcritics.com/how-to-clean-concrete-floor-in-basement/

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