Within a brief period, as polished concrete grew in acceptance, the term “minimal maintenance” became a more realistic expectation when presenting a polished concrete floor system to a client. It’s like buying a new car, it needs to be washed, and the grime and abrasives must be removed to maintain the original high gloss and minimize stains from harmful chemicals.
Maintaining a polished surface is a simple and systematic process. After millions of square feet to draw from, there are currently processes in place to manage every phase of the maintenance in every situation.
Harmful Contaminates
Polishing a concrete floor produces a very abrasion-resistant surface. Comparing a non-polished surface to a polished surface, the non-polished surface has micro-irregular hills and valleys. When this surface is continually abraded, the hills break off showing a wear pattern. Whereas with a polished surface, there are no hills to wear away.
When polishing, the first step is to grind the surface. When grinding, the top surface of the slab is removed. This rids the surface of weak irregularities (hills). At this point, it will appear smooth to the human eye but is still rough. Once ground, the honing process begins and ends with the final polishing steps producing an exceptionally smooth, hill-free wear surface.
During the polishing process, chemicals are used to increase the surface hardness. This chemical reaction produces a harder surface to enhance the polishing process and increases the abrasion resistance extending the floor’s service life.
Preventive Measures
The best way to approach maintenance is to, as well as possible, begin with prevention. Preventative maintenance includes walk-off mats at the doorways, removing spills quickly, and dry mopping or auto-scrubbing daily. Also, when selecting the gloss level of the floor for a high-traffic area, choose a lower gloss level. High gloss correlates to a higher level of maintenance.
Walk-off mats and daily cleaning will reduce abrasive particles from being brought into the area reducing the dirt from being ground into the floor. Although a polished and hardened concrete surface is very abrasion-resistant, walking over a floor covered with incompressible dirt will reduce the gloss level over time.
The removal of harmful spills will be the norm. There are environments where spills happen more often than we would like. Cafeterias, grocery stores, convenience stores, and industrial facilities are a select few. Organic acids are very harmful and will etch a polished surface. Vinegar, soft drinks, fruit juice, pickle juice, and acid are liquids that can etch the polished surface. Concrete is not resistant to acid. The etched area will have a lower gloss level and appear as a stain but it’s not, it is a texture difference.
Cleaning Regimens
DiamaPro® Polished Concrete Maintenance Program is a complete, comprehensive, and affordable system to maintain, restore, and refurbish a polished surface. Whether for general daily cleaning or restoring an etched polished floor that has been attacked by organic acid, DiamaPro® Systems has a program suited for your floor.
Daily Maintenance
- As a daily process, this will help keep the gloss and remove any light stains that impact the appearance. This process should be performed daily.
- Auto-scrubber
- Must be performed wet.
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 3500-grit
- High-speed Burnisher
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 3500-grit
- Auto-scrubber
Restore
- Periodically, the polished floor will show traffic patterns due to heavy foot or vehicle traffic. Refurbish Level should be used when the floor is not responding to Daily Maintenance. The floor appears to have lost its gloss or has been stained. Perform this level until the gloss level needed has been restored and then move back to Daily Maintenance.
- Must be performed wet.
- Auto-scrubber or High-speed floor machine
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 800-grit
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 1800-grit
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 3500-grit
- Apply DiamaPro® Diama-Guard HG
- High-speed burnish using a DiamaPro Sparkle Pad – 3500-grit dry.
Refurbish
- The one of most detrimental liquids contacting a polished concrete floor is an organic acid. Vinegar, red wine, pickle juice, and fruit juice all contain food-grade acid. These liquids are all in a common grocery store. Organic acid is so strong it will etch the surface of a polished floor creating a rough surface, reducing the gloss level.
- The Refurbish Level is a process of refining the etched surface to bring it back to its original appearance. This process takes multiple steps to complete. This can be performed over a large area or to address small etched areas. Whichever one you are doing; the process needs to gradually feather into the polished area creating a seamless repair.
- Must be performed wet.
- Must only be used on an auto-scrubber.
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 200-grit
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 400-grit
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 800-grit
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 1800-grit
- DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 3500-grit
- Apply DiamaPro® Diama-Guard HG
- High-speed burnish using a DiamaPro® Sparkle Pad – 3500-grit dry.
Cleaner
- Daily/Frequent Cleaning:
- Auto scrubbers with suitable pads and pH-neutral cleaners.
- DiamaPro® Diama-Clean
- Deep Cleaning (Periodically):
- May involve diamond polishing pads, depending on the floor's condition.
- DiamaPro® Diama-Clean
Protecting the Shine
There are positive attributes of polished concrete, but chemical resistance is not high on the list. To provide chemical resistance, there needs to be a protective system applied in the final polishing steps.
There are two types of protection systems available, a film-forming system (DiamaPro® Diama-Guard HG) and a penetrating system (DiamaPro® Diama-Guard PSR). The most widely used is film-forming. They are typically referred to as a “Film-Forming Guard”. A film-forming guard includes an acrylic polymer, water, and wax. The water is the carrier. The carrier is a liquid that allows the material to be applied and flow. Without it, it would be paste-like. Once cured, the acrylic produces a durable film. Most film-forming guards can be high-speed burnished because they have wax. The wax provides a burnish response.
Why would someone burnish a polished concrete floor? Film-forming guards are malleable. They can be reshaped after they have been cured. The high-speed burnisher with a diamond-impregnated pad reshapes them into a smooth, shiny film. Regular high-speed burnishing will help keep the original gloss level, leaving a cleaner surface.
When to Call in Professionals
Depending on the size of the facility, the skill level of the employees, and available time, the owner of the facility might be better off contracting the maintenance out to a professional. Some firms take care of carpet, tile, and wood flooring but polished concrete is a different animal.
When taking care of a polished floor, there is not one step similar to when cleaning a carpeted or wood floor. The pH of concrete is 9.5-10.0. The cleaning solution used needs to fall within that range. The wrong cleaning methods and solutions can destroy a polished concrete floor.
Over time, the film-forming guard will need to be replenished. That process includes using an auto-scrubber, diamond-impregnated pads, cleaning solution, microfiber mop, form-filming guard, and a high-speed burnisher. The application method needs to be followed and not deviated from. The key factor that should be noted is to reapply the guard before it is completely worn away. It is a much easier process if there is guard still protecting the floor.
When selecting a floor maintenance company, make sure they have solid references. These references need to include only customers with polished concrete. Cleaning a polished floor is a process. You can’t just use an auto-scrubber with an aggressive brush with a low-pH cleaning solution and scrub away. Diamond-impregnated pads and higher pH cleaners need to be used.
Conclusion
Once you have your new, polished floor installed, maintenance is important to retain the appearance and performance properties. The process of caring for your floor is much different than dealing with carpet, tile, or wood. Special equipment, chemicals, and processes need to be used and followed.
DiamaPro® Polished Concrete Maintenance Program is a complete, comprehensive, and affordable system to maintain, restore, and refurbish a polished surface. Whether for general daily cleaning or restoring an etched polished floor that has been attacked by organic acid, DiamaPro® Systems has a program suited for your floor.