Maintaining Stained Concrete Floors

There are many benefits to using stained concrete. It is high quality, easily affordable, and does not need a lot of maintenance. Though stained concrete requires little maintenance, there are some steps you can do to help keep your floors looking great. One of the most important things that you will want to do is to look out for dust and dirt. Floors that are continually left dirty actually tend to scratch and dull much faster and scratches on your new floor might want to be avoided. In order to help lessen the amount of dirt that gets tracked into the house in the first place, an outdoor scraper mat should be invested in. This way, small pebbles, mud, etc can be removed before entering the house. Inside the house, you may also want to add floor protectors to the bottom of all your furniture such as couches, chairs, tables etc. Moving furniture around can often lead to scuffs and scratches. By putting on floor protectors to the bottom of your furniture, this helps to avoid the problem. 

Dust mopping is a vital step in maintaining the quality of your floor. When dust mopping, you remove all the silt, sand, and clay that can scratch and wear away at your floor. First, you will want to do a general sweep or vacuum over the floor. If you vacuum, be sure to use the brush attachment. Using a microfiber dust mop is also a good alternative or can be used in addition to sweeping or vacuuming. Microfiber dust mops are a good choice since microfiber has been engineered to aggressively pick up any dust or other debris on your floor. 

Once you have removed all the dirt away from your floor, you will then want to mop your floor. Only neutral cleaners should be used on your floor while mopping. Do not use bleach, ammonia, vinegar or other products that contain high phosphate levels or pine oils. These products are highly corrosive and will wear away at the finishing of your concrete floor. Once you have mopped, it may be a good idea to apply a floor finish to protect the sealer on the concrete floor. Generally, a floor finish needs to be added to your floor once or twice a year depending on the amount of traffic in your home. These are a few easy stops to follow for maintaining stained concrete floors.