Epoxy floors are well known for their elegant, glossy appearance in homes and garages. Due to its smooth surface and attractive features, epoxy is most commonly used for decorative purposes. However, just like any type of flooring, epoxy eventually will lose its shine. In order to keep your flooring looking new, epoxy will need regular maintenance to maintain its attractive beauty.
Maintaining epoxy floors is a fairly easy process. By protecting your floor from damage and performing regular maintenance cleaning, you can keep your epoxy floor visually appealing for years to come. In addition to keeping epoxy shiny, routine maintenance prolongs the flooring’s lifespan.
Maintaining an epoxy floor’s shine is not a difficult process. If you desire to bring back the shine in your epoxy floors, you have come to the right place. Today, we’ll take a look at how to keep epoxy floors shiny and top maintenance tips for epoxy paint.
5 Tips to Keep Epoxy Floors Shiny
Epoxy paint is often used as flooring due to its attractive appearance and easy maintenance. Because epoxy boasts a smooth, glossy surface, cleaning an epoxy floor requires very little effort. By using the right solutions and equipment, you can maintain the shininess of epoxy floors and increase an epoxy floor’s lifespan.
Protecting your epoxy floor from damage is one of the greatest ways to keep the surface shiny. Additionally, regular maintenance cleaning will increase the glossy appearance of epoxy while removing tough stains and debris.
If you’re unsure how to maintain epoxy floors, have no worries! Below, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step guide for maintaining epoxy floors and keeping epoxy floors shiny. By following these simple steps, you can prolong your epoxy floor’s lifespan while promoting a clean, shiny floor for years to come.
1. Protect Epoxy Floors From Damage
Epoxy flooring is crafted with layers of resin and hardeners. Because epoxy forms a solid adhesive bond to base materials such as concrete, it is highly resistant to degradation. With this being said, epoxy floors may become dull and damaged over the years. Thus, protecting your epoxy floors from damage is essential for maintaining an epoxy floor’s shine.
There are many precautionary measures that can reduce the possibility of epoxy being damaged over time. For instance, placing protective pads on bicycle and motorcycle stands can prevent the epoxy from becoming scratched in your garage. If you installed epoxy flooring in your house, consider placing soft pads under furniture that has metallic legs.
Although epoxy is valued for its elegant appearance, it may be wise to cover your flooring with rugs whenever possible. High-traffic areas such as entranceways can become worn out over time without added protection. By placing rugs on your epoxy flooring, you can increase its life while maintaining the floor’s shine.
2. Clean Epoxy Floors Regularly
To boost the aesthetic appeal of your home’s flooring, epoxy will need routine maintenance cleaning. When cleaning your epoxy floors, be careful of what cleaners you select. Certain solutions and cleaners contain harsh chemicals that can de-gloss epoxy floors. For best results, use only water and gentle cleaners for maintaining the shine in epoxy floors.
The best way to keep epoxy floors clean is to wipe up any spills or messes immediately after they occur. This will prevent unsightly stains from forming while also protecting your epoxy floor from damage in the future. To clean up spills on your epoxy floors, simply use a soft cloth or rag.
In addition to removing spills and drips on your epoxy floors, it’s important to perform routine maintenance cleaning. Regularly vacuuming the floors is an excellent way to remove dust and debris. Mopping is also highly recommended for keeping epoxy floors shiny.
Once a year, epoxy floors should be thoroughly washed and scrubbed to prevent fog from appearing. Using a squeegee, wipe the entire epoxy flooring to remove any cloudiness or residue. For areas that remain unclear even after washing, use a gentle solution such as diluted ammonia to remove stains. If your epoxy floors receive heavy vehicle or foot traffic, it may be best to perform a heavy-duty cleaning every six months rather than once a year.
3. Remove Tough Stains
If regular cleaning fails to remove tough stains on your epoxy flooring, it may be time to use a cleaner. Diluted ammonia is a recommended solution for epoxy floors. Never use pure ammonia or bleach on your epoxy floors, as they may lead to permanent damage. Even products such as citrus cleaners or soap-based cleaners can cause significant damage to epoxy flooring.
To remove stains in your home or garage, you’ll first need to sweep the affected area. From here, mix five ounces of clear ammonia per gallon of hot water. Apply it to the stained area and allow it to rest for five minutes. Finally, carefully use a soft-bristled brush to remove the stain. Continue brushing the area until the marks have disappeared.
4. Apply Wax
Even with regular maintenance, epoxy floors can lose their shine over time. If your epoxy flooring no longer possesses its glossy appearance, you may need to apply wax. A few coatings of wax can bring back the shine in epoxy while adding a protective layer to flooring.
When applying wax to epoxy flooring, mainly target the high-traffic areas. Entrances and doorways are ideal places for applying a coat of wax. Areas that do not receive high traffic may not require wax. Instead, utilize rugs and soft pads on furniture for protecting epoxy floors.
An alternative to wax is applying a second coat of epoxy to your epoxy floors. By adding another coat of epoxy, you can increase your flooring’s durability while improving the floor’s shine. Before applying a new coat of epoxy, be sure to lightly sand the cured epoxy. Do not add more epoxy until the original flooring has a matt, almost white appearance.
5. Hire a Professional
If you’re struggling to clean your epoxy flooring, it may be best to hire a professional. Professional services will understand exactly what types of cleaners to use on your epoxy flooring. Additionally, professionals utilize special equipment for removing tough stains and bringing back the sparkling appearance of epoxy floors.
Bringing back the shine in epoxy floors does not have to be a difficult process. By following these simple steps, you can increase the glossy appearance of epoxy while also extending the flooring’s longevity. In turn, you can enjoy the appealing aesthetics of epoxy floors for many years to come.