Having epoxy flooring in your home can truly make it stand out from the crowd. It can be used for spicing up your garage, transforming your braai area into the ultimate entertainment space, or even update an old-fashioned living room and make it fresh and funky. Epoxy flooring for a residential home is an affordable way to make your house unique. However, maintaining it can be tricky for beginners.
If you are looking for epoxy flooring in Cape Town it is important to know how to maintain them. Keeping your floors clean and free of grit and dust is important, of course, but there are other aspects that you need to look into to ensure that your floors will last for years to come. Below we discuss some of the top tips for maintaining your epoxy floors.
Keep Surfaces Free Of Dirt And Grit
One of the most important aspects of having an epoxy floor is that you need to keep it free of grit and dirt. This is especially true if the floor is in your garage or braai room, where there is frequent dust and dirt. You should focus on sweeping and vacuuming the floors on a regular basis, such as twice a week.
In order to stop your floors from becoming scratched or damaged, you should use a soft broom or mop to sweep the floors. If the floors do become scratched or marked, this could cause them to attract dust or make them difficult to clean. Be sure to vacuum after every use of the room in order to ensure that the floors are clean and grit-free for your next use.
Stop Soap-Based Cleaning
Epoxy flooring does not need to be cleaned using soap. You can simply use a mop soaked in warm water should do the trick, but you can also use soft soap if you feel that the dirt might be difficult to remove. Normal cleaning soaps can often leave a film or haze on epoxy floors, which can be difficult to remove after a while.
You should also avoid using acid-based cleaners or cleaners that have citrus in them, as this will cause damage to the epoxy flooring. Using ammonia and hot water will help to remove tricky stains. If you want the room to smell fresh after cleaning, you can spray air freshener around the room, but avoid spraying it onto or close to the floors.
Make The Most Of A Welcome Mat
Using a welcome mat will help you to significantly avoid tracking in dirt, grime, and grit over your floors. By wiping the bottom of your shoes, you will remove any possible dirt and can maintain the integrity of your epoxy flooring. Be sure to regularly clean the mat so that people using it do not track in old dirt that might be left behind on your mat.
If your epoxy flooring is in a garage or storage space, be sure to place rubber mats underneath machinery or items that could scratch the floor. If you live in an area that experiences rain and other inclement weather, you should invest in a larger and longer mat in order to avoid any water or dirt being tracked further into the room.
Gently Scrub Those Stains
Sometimes you will need to scrub a stain in order to remove it, but this should only be done with a soft-bristled scrubbing brush and using warm water. Any acid- or citrus-based cleaning liquids will remove the epoxy catalyst which will cause further damage to your flooring. Scrubbing gently will help to ensure that any stubborn stains are removed with ease.
Be sure to clean the scrubbing brushes and cleaning equipment only in warm water or approved cleaners because the residue might be damaging to your flooring. Always dry your floors afterwards in order to prevent streaks and dust from collecting on the flooring. The towel or drying equipment should also be washed and dried without citrus or acid-based chemicals.
Avoid Oil Spills
For those who might have epoxy flooring in their garages, it is important never to let oil spills sit for too long on your flooring. You should try to clean these up as quickly as possible so that they do not stick or cause permanent stains. Wipe these spills up with towels or other non-abrasive materials as soon as they occur in order to avoid permanent damage.
If a spill does occur, remember to use a scrubbing brush with soft to moderately abrasive bristles and use a warm water and ammonia solution in order to remove the stains. You can also use paper towels to quickly mop up a mess to effectively absorb the chemicals. Be sure that the paper towels do not have any colours on them because these could seep into the flooring and cause stains.
Make Maintenance Mandatory
After your epoxy flooring in your residential home has been laid, you should spend time creating a maintenance plan to ensure that it is clean and fresh every day. Start by keeping the surfaces free of dirt and grime, and remember to use only warm water and a small amount of ammonia to clean them, avoiding any soap- or citrus-based cleaners.
Use a welcome mat and gently scrubbing brushes to keep your floors clean. If you would like to install epoxy flooring in your home, contact Cape Industrial Flooring today for more information.