Epoxy Cleaning Instructions: (Instructions for floor sealers is noted at the bottom of the page)
Slip Free Systems Operating, Maintenance & Cleaning Procedures
Your new epoxy/urethane floor is now a non-porous finish impervious to most stains and spills that would otherwise be trapped in your concrete surface so aggressive cleaning methods are no longer necessary.
WHY CLEAN YOUR FLOOR?
Appearance: Your floor will look its best when it is clean. By instituting a scheduled cleaning program, the floor will continue to look and perform as it did when it was first installed.
Safety: No matter how aggressive the texture of your floor, if it is not cleaned properly, it can present a slip hazard. Emulsifying, rinsing and drying your floor properly will reduce the risk of a slip and fall incident.
Service Life: The lifetime of your floor will depend upon how well you clean it. In aggressive use areas (i.e. kitchens and machine shops) contaminants such as oil, dirt and grease work with water and bacteria to attack your floor.
FLOOR CLEANING PROCESS & TOOLS
The best way to clean a Slip Free floor is to use the recommended cleaning product and follow a six-step process. (Equipment needs vary between small and medium/large floor areas.)
Process Small Area Medium/Large Area
1. Sweep floor thoroughly using standard broom or dust mop.
2. Apply cleaning product on floor surface using soft deck brush, foamer/sprayer or automatic floor scrubber designed for epoxy coatings.
3. Dwell – allow cleaning product time to emulsify foreign material 10 –15 minutes.
4. Agitate to aid in the release of foreign materials using a soft to medium bristle deck brush or rotary floor machine using medium to soft pads or bristles.
5. Remove cleaning product from the floor using a squeegee (soft neoprene) or wet vacuum.
6. Rinse the floor with clean water and remove excess with a wet vacuum or squeegee (soft neoprene).
CLEANING GUIDELINES
1. Never use a mop to clean a floor that is greasy or oily. That goes for a greasy or oily mop or floor, you’ll just be spreading it around the next time you use that mop.
2. Make sure the pads or brushes on the automatic scrubber are in good shape. Pads should be white or tan 3M cleaning pads or similar and non-abrasive. Brushes should be nylon non-abrasive or a similar soft to medium flex bristle brush.
3. When using a deck brush, choose a soft to medium bristle.
4. When using a rotary floor machine, use a tan or white 3M pad or similar on lowest setting and test an area first.
5. When removing solution with a squeegee, use a soft, neoprene squeegee. Do Not use a water spray or pressure washer to remove cleaning solution from the floor.
6. Wax strippers should never be used on an epoxy floor coating.
7. Spills should be cleaned up immediately as a safety precaution and to insure long life.
8. Surfaces should be adequately protected when moving heavy equipment across the floor. Epoxy is scratch resistant but not scratch proof.
9. Through proper training and education, unnecessary wear of the floor (such as forklift spin and skid-marks) can be avoided.
10. Avoid the use of a pressure washer. It is unnecessary and not recommended.
RECOMMENDED CLEANING PRODUCTS
Determining the correct cleaning product for your Slip Free floor is based upon the amount and type of soiling the floor receives. We have divided these into three types, and recommended a cleaning product for each instance:
Retail Hallways,Healthcare, Labs, Dining Areas, Schools: For larger areas, it is perfectly acceptable to hose down your new floor coating with a water hose being cautious not to push water under walls where epoxy cove is not present, but for a typical sized area, a damp mop and a non abrasive cleanser like dawn dish soap or a citrus based cleanser is perfectly acceptable as well as an all purpose cleaner by Simple Green. To be safe, always do a test area to make sure the product you are using will not streak or damage your floor.
Moderate/Heavy or crude based soils.
Grocery stores, Restaurant kitchens, Animal care, Food/Beverage Processing: For larger areas, it is perfectly acceptable to hose down your new floor coating with a water hose being cautious not to push water under walls where epoxy cove is not present, but for a typical sized area, a damp mop and a non-abrasive cleanser like dawn dish soap or a citrus based cleanser is perfectly acceptable.
Moderate/Heavy (Crude soils)
Manufacturing/Industrial, Machine/Automotive Service Centers, Warehouses
SIMONIZ 969 is a heavy duty, highly alkaline floor cleaner designed to remove machine and crude oil from bare concrete but for an epoxy coated floor we recommend a general purpose cleaner like Dawn Dish Soap or Simple Green All Purpose Cleanser.
WHEN TO CLEAN YOUR FLOOR
Slip Free floors are designed for and used in heavy traffic areas that typically accumulate foreign matter. Because of this, the recommended maintenance schedule that fits your needs. High traffic areas with heavy contaminants may require more frequent cleaning while low traffic areas with less contamination will require less cleaning. Less frequent cleaning of these areas results in a buildup of foreign matter, which diminishes the appearance, safety and service life of the floor.
WARNINGS:
Slip Free Systems floor coatings should NOT be cleaned with the use of any of the following or similar machinery: burnishers, high-tech cleaners, auto scrubbers, restorers, special seals, pressure washers, abrasive floor pads, automatic buffing machines and similar scrubbing machinery.
Under no circumstance should you use an abrasive cleanser or abrasive cleaning pad of any kind on your epoxy/urethane coated floor.
Avoid chemical spills and full traffic during cure period. Premature exposure may cause permanent staining or discoloration.
FLOOR SEALERS:
CLEANING INSTRUCTION FOR CLEAR ACRYLIC FLOOR SEALERS
STEP 1: DRY CLEAN
Routinely sweep or vacuum with a good quality dry vac that has a horsehair brush attachment on the wand for hard surface floors. This is your first line of defense in keeping your floor clean. The vac will actually lift the dust and dirt off your floor. Do not use a vacuum with a beater bar/brush attachment, it can scratch the surface. Dust mops are okay for daily or quick cleaning, but they do not collect and dispose all of the dust and dirt on the floor like a vacuum will.
STEP 2: MOP WITH THE RIGHT CLEANER
Using a cleaner with the right pH of 6.5-7.0 is of most importance when it comes to truly cleaning and maintaining your sealed concrete floor. Using a cleaner with the wrong pH, whether too acidic or too alkaline, can actually dull, and even strip the finish on a sealed floor. Harsh detergents and cleaners commonly used for other types of flooring (such as Pine-Sol, bleach, and vinegar) are not the right pH and should not be used on concrete floors with a sealed surface. We recommend a pH neutral, no-rinse cleaner specifically created for sealed concrete floors.
When using the right cleaner, it is also very important to pay close attention to the proper dilution rate of the cleaner. Most neutral cleaners (pH6.5-7.0), are highly concentrated and require only 1 ounce of cleaner per gallon of fresh water. In this case, more is definitely not better. Too much cleaner can leave a film or haze on the floor.
CAN I JUST MOP WITH PLAIN WATER?
There are all kinds of substances in water, whether it’s municipal water or well water. There are minerals, and additives that can cause a hazy film on your surface. The pH neutral cleaner will actually neutralize these substances, and leave your floor cleaner and shinier than plain old water.
Do not use steam mops on sealed concrete surfaces. The steam may cause moisture to get trapped underneath the sealer, and can cause white spots to appear on your floor. Also, do not use the “wet jet” type mops that have a liquid cleaner dispensing system. These type of mops do not get your floor wet enough to clean the dirt off the floor. Instead, the manufacturers’ solution usually contains solvents that actually dissolve the dirt, and they will also strip your sealed concrete finish. It’s best to use a plain old string mop that you can wring in a bucket. A good quality string mop will actually scrub the floor and lift the dirt better.
If your routine cleaning intervals are frequent, and you sweep or vacuum in between mopping intervals, your mop water shouldn’t be very dirty.
STEP 3: PROTECT YOUR SEALER
One option to protect your floor is to create a “sacrificial wear layer” by applying a few coats of wax. Most sealers are thin-film acrylic sealers, either solvent based or water based. If left alone, with no protection, the day to day foot traffic will wear away at that acrylic film over time. Alternately, with an epoxy floor coating you can expect years of easy to clean surfaces but acrylic sealers require more maintenance and day to day attention. Acrylic Sealers were never meant to provide long term industrial wear and tear. Acrylic sealers primary job is to seal the floor so the concrete does not continue to produce continuous concrete dust conditions. The secondary benefit to acrylic sealers are: Cost to install and protection from contaminants above the floor like spills and splatters. (Epoxy as a general rule is 3x-5X more expensive to install)
HOW TO DETERMINE WHEN ITS TIME FOR A RECOAT:
First the shine will dull, and then eventually, the sealer can be broken down and you will begin to see wear in high traffic areas.
As a general rule, acrylic sealers in a commercial or industrial setting can last from 1-3 years before you apply a maintenance coat depending on use and traffic. Epoxy Coatings can last up to 20 years under the same conditions.
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One of our national suppliers created this excellent video for how to clean epoxy floors. Check it out here.
