Auto Scrubber Process for Polished Concrete Floors
(You can use either a walk-behind or ride-on scrubber for polished concrete)
- Dilute cleaner 2 to 4 quarts in a full tank of water depending on level of surface soil.
- Run area with brushes down, squeegee up and water set between ¾ to full open.
- Scrub area and allow cleaner to stand on surface for five minutes minimum.
- Make a second pass reducing water to ¼ open and pick up with squeegee down and vacuum on.
- When entire area is completed with above procedure, inspect floor for trouble areas of remaining soil.
- Spray areas utilizing a pump-up sprayer with a 1:1 water/cleaner mixture and let stand 10 minutes. Re-scrub.
- For maximum surface shine, make a final pass with brushes down, squeegee down, vacuum on and water set between ¼ and ½ open with water only (no cleaner as detergent may leave a hazy film detracting from shine).
- Remove any spill as soon as possible. The longer a contaminate remains on the floor, the more chance it can stain the surface.
Do not apply wax or sealers as these floors are self-polishing. An occasional “dry buff” with a soft pad will enhance the floor’s natural shine.
Incorporate colors into your polished concrete with chemical dyes which penetrate into the substrate.
Cleaning chemicals
- Diluted pH neutral cleaner (pH 7) used alone with clean water will eventually dull a polished concrete floor.
- Use of conditioners in the cleaning process, such as Black Diamond® Cleaner and Conditioner (distributed through VMC (call Richard Hill at 214-497-8813 or VMC.com) will enhance the shine of a polished concrete floor.
- Scrubbers need a cleaning solution that allows dirt to be held in suspension. The dirt can then be removed with the scrubber’s vacuum. Water and a mild detergent or a diluted neutral cleaner is recommended (such as Black Diamond® Cleaner and Conditioner).
- Water only solutions do not suspend dirt for ease of removal during the cleaning process. These water only solutions allow some dirt to remain on the floor and the remaining dirt will abrade the polished finish.
- If the cleaning solution is too strong or not properly diluted, it will chemically etch a polished concrete floor.
- Black Diamond® polished concrete can also be burnished back to a high polish with a high-speed burnisher using concrete floor buffing compounds (both distributed through VMC) if floor polish is not allowed to deteriorate beyond repair.
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