How to clean Epoxy Floor – Helpful Guide for Epoxy Floor Maintenance

This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn a small commission from purchases made through them, at no additional cost to you. You help to support resin-expert.com

Epoxy floors are very durable, but still need the care that our bedroom floors, kitchen floors and bathroom floors need. Epoxy floors are used in a variety of settings inside and outside the home – the most common being in garages, warehouses, exercise areas and high-traffic walkways, but also in your living are. For surfaces upon which heavy machinery is being used, a tough epoxy coating exterior is by far the best choice – on top of this, it binds well to most base layers. Our Epoxy floor maintenance guide on how to clean epoxy floors provides you with the necessary know-how on how to keep your epoxy floor in good shape.

 

 

 

The best cleaner for epoxy floors

In order to concoct the best cleaner for epoxy floors, take ½ to 3 ounces of ammonia (depending on the toughness of the stain that you want to take out) and mix with 1 gallon of hot, near-boiling water. This mixture should be applied to your epoxy floor with a soft dust mop.

One thing to be aware of when cleaning your epoxy floors, is that some cleaners can degloss your epoxy surface, while others can leave behind a layer of residue which is unsightly and unsafe. We will, however, get into that later.

 

 

Keep your surfaces dirt and grit free

No matter how tough the surface, we still want our epoxy floors to be clean. Say you are using heavy machinery and you are planning on cleaning epoxy garage floors. What you need to do is take a soft dust mop, and sweep away any loose debris with it on a regular basis (1 to 2 times a week, depending on how much dirt your garage accumulates.

This is crucial as dirt and grit particles are hard to spot and as resilient as your epoxy floor itself – they will embed themselves in the floor and begin to scratch your beautiful epoxy coating over time. You don’t want that, now do you? When it comes to vacuuming, use a soft brush attachment and glide over the dirt and grit gently, removing any sand, dirt, and grime.

 

 

Spot cleaning

Spot cleaning, like your mother always told you, goes a long way towards keeping any area clean. It’s ecactly the same for epoxy floors. When dealing with those unfortunate liquid spills, you want to vacuum the liquid up along with any dirt, and mop the area with warm water. Luckily, epoxy floors have a high resistance to water and liquid spills are often easy-to-clean and wipe away.

 

 

How to clean heavily soiled epoxy floors

The best method of cleaning a dirty epoxy floor is as follows:

1. Sweep the area thoroughly and follow this up with a quick vacuuming.
2. Get rid of any dust or dirt particles intruding on your clean epoxy floors.
3. Once your surface is free from grime, dirt and sand, take a hard foam mop and hot water to get rid of any dirt that may have tracked into your epoxy floor.
4. Next, take your hard foam mop and dip into our recommended epoxy floor cleaner mix and continue mopping.

 

 

How to clean unsightly stains on epoxy floors

Rust and other stains can be a real nuisance when it comes to your epoxy floors. To get rid of such intruders, scrub lightly with a kitchen scrubbing sponge or a soft deck brush and warm water for the best results. Avoid using steel wool and harmful cleaning chemicals like Comet.

You can use two different cleaning aids: a slightly abrasive scrubbing brush or a pad and a soft-scrub. As we have mentioned before, do not use cleaning compounds with citrus or acid in them, as these compounds gradually break down the epoxy coating and will cause a fade on your epoxy floors.

 

 

Oils and other chemicals

Cleaning epoxy garage floors shouldn’t be too taxing. When working with your car on an epoxy floor, do not let any spills sit on the floor surface for too long. Engine oil contains chemicals that are potentially hazardous to an epoxy coated floor.

Spilled gas should be cleaned up as soon as possible, because it could damage the to the surface of the epoxy floor. Substance such as paint, household cleaners, and other coarse liquids should be cleaned up as soon as possible after spilling. As soon as the spill occurs, wipe up with a towel.

 

 

How to clean your epoxy garage floor

Wondering how to clean your epoxy garage floor? In order to remove those tough tire marks from a floor with epoxy coating, soak the affected area with the best cleaner for epoxy floors, our recommended diluted ammonia mix.

Let it rest for about five minutes. Then, using a stiff bristle nylon brush, scrub the marks gently until the marks have dissipated. This is the best method demonstrating how to clean your epoxy garage floors.

As with liquid spills on an epoxy floor, it is easier to remove the marks if you tend to them immediately after noticing them. The more marks built up on the floor, the harder it is to remove them. A quick hack for if you have a vehicle sitting in your garage for a long period of time, is to place cardboard or any type of buffer between the tyres and the epoxy floor.

 

Bilder: Bannafarsai_Stock, BELL KA PANG / shutterstock.com

 

 

Treat your garage as if it is the inside of your home

In order to further prevent dirt and moisture from harming your epoxy floor, ensure that you have placed a doormat at the entry to your garage. This will guarantee that dirt and whatever else has tracked into your shoes from outside will not be able to damage or dirty the epoxy floor coating.

 

 

Avoid at all costs

Citrus cleaners or vinegar are to be avoided when cleaning your epoxy garage floor. These substances contain chemicals that can cause a gradual fade on the coating of epoxy over time.

Soap-based cleaners are also to be avoided, as these cleaners can leave residue on the epoxy floor coating that creates an opaque film over the shiny epoxy finish. The soap-based cleaners can also be dangerously slippery when wet. For the best results, use our recommended epoxy floor cleaner.

 

 

Frequently asked questions:

Is It Normal for Epoxy Coatings to Chip or Peel?

If you have not prepared and installed it properly, an epoxy floor coating will begin to chip and peel. As we offer a lifetime warranty for residential use, a 2-year warranty for commercial use, and proper installation and preparation, our high-quality industrial level epoxy floors do not chip or peel after any amount of time.

 

Can I use bleach on epoxy floors?

No, do not use harmful cleaners such as bleach or pure ammonia on your epoxy floor coating. Epoxy floors are blessed in that they do not need high-strength cleaners to be cleaned properly. Simply use our recommended epoxy floor cleaner (½ to 3 ounces of ammonia diluted with 1 gallon of hot water) and there you have it! A spotless epoxy floor coating.

 

How do you fix a scratched epoxy floor?

Press a small amount (no larger than the size of a quarter) of furniture polish onto the centre of a lint-free cloth, and gently rub into your scratched epoxy floor coating. Rub in a circular motion – this will help distribute the furniture polish evenly across the scratches in the epoxy. Do this until the scratches blend in with the rest of your epoxy coating.

 

Can you pressure- wash epoxy floors?

Pressure washing is not a necessity, however you can use a pressure washer to hose down an extremely dirty epoxy floor. Otherwise, you can simply use dishwashing liquid or Simple Green and hose down the floor with a mixture of that. The beauty of epoxy floor maintenance is that it is very simple and effortless. If you are having to go above and beyond, your epoxy floor simply wasn’t prepared and installed correctly.

 

Can you steam clean epoxy floors?

Yes, as steam cleaning has qualities that enable the steam to lift harsh stains such as grease, it is the preferred method for cleaning hard epoxy floors.  Epoxy floor coatings are extremely durable and resilient, and will maintain their shine come sunshine and rain. You can even drop a wrench on it without compromising the texture of the surface. Despite this, you’d still like to keep it clean, right?

 

Can you wax epoxy floors?

If your epoxy coated floors have lost the gloss that they possessed in their heyday, it is likely that you will need to apply a few coatings of wax to it. Remember, the higher traffic in the area, the more coatings of wax you need to apply. If they haven’t lost their luster, the gloss finish will negate the need for waxing of any kind.