Now that you’ve got a beautiful, shiny floor, you want to keep it looking that way.

Whether it’s in an animal shelter or a healthcare facility, a well-maintained epoxy floor can help your space look clean and professional.

Perhaps you didn’t consider how to clean epoxy floor coating before you had it installed. Don’t worry, we’re here to help.

Keep reading to learn how to clean an epoxy floor in five easy steps, along with our top six cleaning tips to keep your epoxy floor looking new for years to come.

• How To Clean Epoxy-Painted Floors in 5 Easy Steps
• What Cleaners Can You Use on Epoxy? 
• 6 Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Epoxy Floor Looking New
• Why Epoxy Flooring Needs Regular Cleaning
• Keep Your Epoxy Floors in Top Shape – The Treadwell Way

If you aren’t sure how to clean epoxy floors, here’s an easy-to-follow, five-step method.

1. Sweep: Sweep the area of dirt and debris using a manual broom, an auto-scrubber with a sweeper built in, or an industrial broom.
2. Rinse: Rinse the floor with clean water and use an industrial squeegee to dry it.
3. Mix and pour the cleaner: Using a pH-balanced cleaning solution, follow the instructions to mix the cleaner in the appropriate ratio. Many floor scrubbers automatically mix the solution with water before dispensing it onto the floor. If you aren’t using a floor scrubber, mix the cleaning solution before applying it to the floor. Allow the cleaner to sit on the floor for two to five minutes.
4. Scrub the floor: For larger commercial and industrial spaces, it’s best to use an auto-scrubber. Floor scrubbers deliver a consistent clean each time and are easy to use and maintain. Otherwise, you can use a stiff-bristled brush to agitate the grimy areas. Squeegee the dirty water to drain.
5. Rinse thoroughly: Floor scrubbers remove the guesswork from the cleaning process by dispensing the right amount of water to rinse your floor after scrubbing. If you aren’t using a floor scrubber, pour water over the area and use the squeegee again to dry it.

Not cleaning or rinsing your floors often and thoroughly can create a slick, slippery surface. Follow these steps and add this routine to your regular maintenance program to help keep your epoxy floors clean, long-lasting, and most of all, safe. 

Are you considering installing epoxy floor coating in your commercial facility in the greater Kansas City area? Look no further than Treadwell. Contact us today to find out why so many companies trust us as their premier epoxy flooring company.

It’s important to use a pH-neutral floor cleaner. You can find one at your local home store. Be sure to read the product labels and look for “pH neutral” or a pH level close to seven. You can also make a pH-neutral cleaner using dishwashing detergent and hot water. But most importantly, remember step five, making sure you wash away your cleaner completely.

Never use bleach, ammonia, citric acid, or vinegar on epoxy flooring. The cleaners can be too harsh and react with the chemicals in the epoxy, weakening the bond between the resin and the floor.

#1: Sweep Daily

Sweeping your floors daily with a broom or mechanical cleaning equipment prevents dust and dirt from accumulating. If you’re using a mechanical sweeper, use a soft bristle brush to avoid scratching the floor coating. A hard bristle brush can cause the gloss to fade. 

Bonus tip: To minimize dirt and moisture accumulation, place mats at entryways.

#2: Scrub Weekly

How often you scrub may depend on the amount and type of grime that typically covers your epoxy floors. However, it’s best practice to scrub epoxy floors at least once a week. High-traffic areas and places where oil and grease are prevalent should be scrubbed daily. Use the proper brush, detergent, mop, and bucket or a mechanized scrubber.

#3: Don’t Wait To Clean Spills

It’s important to clean all liquid spills immediately, before they damage the floor finish or create a hazard. The longer harsh liquid spills like caustics, acids, and solvents remain on a floor, the more likely they are to soften, discolor, or remove the sealing coating. If you frequently use chemicals in the area, consult your expert epoxy flooring installers for a guide to chemical-resistant sealant options.

#4: Repair Scratches and Gouges

It’s critical to the integrity of your epoxy floors to repair any large gouges or scratches as soon as possible. Deep cuts and gouges can allow moisture to permeate under the coating and cause peeling. 

Follow these steps to repair damages in your epoxy floor coating:

• Clean any grease, oil, and grime from the area using a heavy-duty powdered degreaser called TSP (trisodium phosphate) detergent.
• You can sand the scratched area by hand using 100-grit sandpaper and feather the edges until smooth.
• Rinse the floor thoroughly and allow it to dry fully.
• Repair the damaged area using the original coating material, according to the instructions.

If your epoxy floors are damaged and you’re unable to repair them using the above tips, contact the professionals at Treadwell. We test to determine the cause of the damage and identify the best flooring repair option available. Contact us today for epoxy floor repairs and services.

#5: Keep Up Stain Prevention

If you have stains on your epoxy floor, start with a mild solution before using more powerful removers until the stain disappears. Always be sure to wear rubber gloves and proper eye protection when working with any chemicals.

Grease and oil may stain your floor coating, especially if they remain on the floor and begin to dry. If a spill occurs, promptly scrub the area with TSP, carefully following the instructions on the label.

If you missed a spill, and it has dried, it may be difficult to remove the stain, or it can leave a film on your floor, making it harder to maintain. If this happens, try using a plastic tool to remove the residue. Be careful not to scratch the coating. Then, wet a clean cloth with a TSP cleaner and gently scrub the stained area.

#6: Remove Rubber Burns and Scuffs

Vehicle tires can leave rubber burns on the epoxy floor coating. Follow these steps to remove rubber burns:

• Start by agitating and removing loose debris with a stiff brush, broom, or mechanical scrubber.
• Mix a TSP degreaser or detergent with water to form an emulsion, apply it to the burn marks, and let it sit for a few minutes. 
• Scrub the area with a semi-stiff nylon brush. 
• Rinse thoroughly with water.
• If the rubber scuff persists, repeat.
• If the burn still persists, consider a steam cleaner to avoid damage to your epoxy.

If you want your floors to last, it’s important to establish a routine maintenance program. Regular cleaning will help you minimize scratching from abrasive dust and limit dirt buildup. 

Consistent maintenance for your epoxy floors should include:

• Sweeping and mopping daily to remove any small particles
• Cleaning spills as soon as possible
• Scrubbing the floors thoroughly every week

This will ultimately keep the appearance of your epoxy floors for many years to come.

Benefits of Regular Maintenance

Regularly maintaining your epoxy floors has many benefits, including:

• Keeping the floor free of scratches and reducing wear and tear.
• Preventing certain chemicals from eroding and damaging the floor.
• Ensuring the surface coating remains smooth and shiny.

Common Issues Without Cleaning

Without a regular maintenance cleaning schedule, you may experience the following common preventable issues:

• Small scratches
• Obvious signs of wear and tear
• Erosion from chemical spills
• A rough or bumpy-looking surface
• Loss of shine and gloss on the top coating

If you’re deciding on the best flooring for your business and want a no-nonsense surface that lasts, epoxy floors could be right for you as long as you follow our recommendations for maintenance.

If you found us late and have already experienced damage to your epoxy floors, the good news is, we can still help! 

At Treadwell, we repair and install epoxy flooring solutions for some of Kansas’s top companies.

Our in-house team can fully install your new epoxy flooring, working evenings and weekends to limit disruptions to your operations. 

After an initial conversation, we provide a comprehensive quote and pledge to finish your installation or repair project on time and on budget.

Contact us for top-rated commercial epoxy flooring services.

You wouldn’t wipe the shiny paint on your car with a rag covered in sand, would you? That’s what you can expect when foot traffic goes across a dirty concrete floor. The debris, even if it’s as fine as dust, creates a sanding effect and scratches the floor’s surface.

Working in a facility with a dirty concrete floor is not only aesthetically unappealing but can also pose a hazard since it can create an abrasive effect. We’re here to guide you through why it’s important to keep polished concrete clean and how to maintain it regularly. 

We’ll provide step-by-step instructions and clever tips to clean polished concrete floors. You’ll have all the tools you need to conquer stubborn dust particles and grime buildup, and more importantly, you’ll read why the team at Treadwell is who you should call when in need of a more thorough refresh. Let’s dive in and show you how cleaning polished concrete floors can be a breeze.

• Why Is It Important To Regularly Clean and Maintain Polished Concrete Floors?
• How To Clean a Polished Concrete Floor
• What To Do When Cleaning Your Polished Concrete Floors No Longer Keeps Them Looking Their Best
• How To Deal With Stains on Polished Concrete Floors
• Treadwell Is a Top-Rated Polished Concrete Flooring Company in Kansas City

In addition to being a sustainable alternative, polished concrete floors have many advantages, such as:

• Resistance to moisture transmission issues
• Longer service life
• Cost savings

There are numerous reasons you should regularly clean and maintain your polished concrete floors. Namely, proper maintenance helps to avoid slips and falls, prevents abrasion, and preserves the overall aesthetics of your facility. By following our recommendations, you are sure to prolong the lifetime of your polished concrete floor and keep it shiny.

Help Avoid Slips and Falls

A dirty polished concrete floor can pose a safety hazard as it also becomes more slick, so the likelihood of slips, falls and injuries increases. 

Prevent Abrasion

The presence of continuous debris creates an abrasive effect. When in contact with foot traffic, the debris will create a sanding effect and wear the floor to an uneven surface.

Preserve Aesthetics

When spills aren’t cleaned up quickly, they can etch and stain a polished concrete floor. Acids can take away shine and change the color of the flooring. To prevent discoloration and patchiness on your floor, we recommend acting swiftly in times like this when accidents occur.

If not cleaned regularly, the buildup of debris can affect the aesthetics. Polished concrete should be bright and shiny. If it’s dirty, it dulls the appearance of the floor and the overall appearance of your facility.

Depending on the facility you are working with, the steps on how to clean a polished concrete floor will slightly differ. In the following sections, we dive deeper into the specifics of maintaining your concrete floor in large and small facilities, both of which Treadwell would be happy to help you with.

Regular Maintenance for Larger Facilities

There are two major manufacturers of chemical products used for polishing concrete, and they each have a maintenance system. This includes regular cleaning with auto-scrubbers with a very fine abrasive pad attached. All the major chemical companies make floor cleaner products with a neutral PH. If the PH is too low, it will be acidic and etch the floor. If the PH is too high, it will leave a sticky residue that attracts dirt, which would be counterproductive to your cleaning process. 

When maintaining larger facilities, dilute the solution into the tank of the auto-scrubber and scrub regularly. Give the cleaner enough time to start breaking down the debris. If you apply a cleaning agent and then immediately vacuum it or mop it from the surface, the cleaner will not have the needed time for it to properly work. However, the cleaning solution shouldn’t stay too long so that it dries on the surface. Avoiding this can be accomplished by cleaning small areas and completing the entire process before moving on to other areas. 

The frequency of cleaning is dependent on the foot traffic. For example, in hospitals, schools, and high-traffic retailers, the floors should be scrubbed daily.

Regular Maintenance for Smaller Facilities

For a smaller facility, use the same type of cleaner. A properly diluted, good PH-neutral floor cleaner suspends and lifts the dirt particles. After this step, make sure you’re using clean mop heads to eliminate dirty, streaky residue and give yourself the best chance of removing dirty water instead of just spreading it around. Dust mopping with a microfiber cloth or pad regularly is recommended to remove abrasives.

Most janitorial service companies or large businesses with cleaning supplies have dispensers that dilute the solution properly, but you can still do it accurately yourself by measuring and adding the right amount of water. However, employees in the cleaning industry know the regulations and standards the best, so occasionally implementing their expertise is the way to go.

Quarterly Maintenance for Smaller Facilities

We recommend you hire a janitorial service to come in with an auto-scrubber and do a deep clean either annually, twice a year, or quarterly, depending on the amount of traffic in your facility. 

There comes a time in every facility when a simple floor cleaning no longer cuts it. There are several issues a concrete refresh can address, such as 

• spill 
• tire marks
• tracked-in sand and dirt
• water leak 
• improper cleaning

If 5 to 10 years have passed since your original installation, Treadwell can come in and refresh your facility’s floor through repolishing, reapplying a stain protector, as well as refurbishing – all done at a fraction of the cost of the original install. An assessment of your floor and an estimate of the price is very straightforward once you contact us and provide us with the relevant details. 

Even though polished concrete flooring is renowned for its stain, moisture, and flood resistance, if a floor does get stained with substances that are more difficult to treat such as red wine or oil stains, you might damage your floor further if you attempt to remove the stain yourself. Oil stains may easily seep into the concrete and are very difficult to remove. Call Treadwell for a floor refresh that will restore the original look of your floor and exceed your expectations. 

The team at Treadwell is delighted to assist you with all your flooring needs. Whenever you find that your facility’s floor needs cleaning, a reinstallation, or simply a refresh, we can guarantee that our crew has the necessary tools and expertise to help your polished concrete floor regain and keep its shine for years to come. 

Get in touch with us and we can tackle your flooring needs together.

The installation of anti-static epoxy flooring can seem complicated and overwhelming, and you are certainly not the only one unsure about which system best suits your needs. 

Many people struggle with understanding the necessary steps to ensure that their flooring system functions correctly and the right materials have been used. The good news is that Treadwell’s professionals can help you! 

In this guide, we will break down the different types of anti-static flooring, explain which industries need them the most, and walk you through the installation process. Our goal is to make this process clearer so you can make the best decision for your business needs. 

• Is Epoxy Flooring Anti-Static?
• Who Needs Anti-Static Epoxy Flooring and Why?
• How Is Anti-Static Epoxy Flooring Installed?
• ESD and ESC: What’s the Difference?
• Static Control, Decorative, or Seamless Epoxy Flooring: Treadwell’s Got You Covered

Epoxy floors can be formulated to be anti-static or static-dissipative depending on the specific additives or conductive materials that can be incorporated during the application process. 

Normally, epoxy flooring is a non-conductive material that can allow static charges to build up. Adding resins, carbon-based additives, or metallic compounds makes epoxy flooring anti-static because these materials help dissipate static electricity. 

This flooring is commonly used in clean rooms, areas where electronics are manufactured, or where static control is essential. 

Anti-static epoxy flooring is essential for industries where static electricity can pose significant risks to both workers and sensitive equipment. Many industries need to have anti-static flooring in their facilities as it helps to safely dissipate static charges and provide a controlled environment.

Anti-static epoxy flooring is particularly beneficial for industries where static control is crucial for protecting sensitive equipment and ensuring a safe working environment. These are some of the most common and important industries that can benefit from anti-static epoxy flooring: 

• Electronics manufacturing: This industry requires strict control of static electricity to avoid damaging delicate devices used in the production of microchips, circuit boards, and other electronic components. 
• Semiconductor industry: Since small electrostatic discharges can cause irreparable damage to chips and circuits manufactured in this industry, anti-static flooring is critical. 
• Pharmaceuticals: Clean rooms in pharmaceutical manufacturing require static control to prevent contamination and ensure the product’s quality will not be affected, especially for medications and sterile equipment. 
• Data centers or information technology facilities: These house critical IT infrastructure. Anti-static flooring helps protect servers and other electronic equipment from potential damage due to static electricity and dryness of the air naturally in this type of location. 
• Medical device manufacturing: Since medical devices often contain delicate electronics, anti-static flooring is used in manufacturing areas to prevent damage and ensure the device’s reliability and safety. 
• Automotive industry: In automotive electronics manufacturing, anti-static flooring helps protect sensitive components in electrical systems, sensors, and control units.
• Research labs: Sensitive equipment used in laboratories, such as microscopes or testing devices, heavily rely on anti-static flooring to maintain a static-free environment that will not affect them and the results they can provide in the research.

The installation of anti-static epoxy flooring is extremely important to ensure its effectivity at dissipating static electricity. These are some general steps professionals follow. 

For the best results and to guarantee proper installation, reach out to Treadwell’s team of skilled professionals. Our experts can ensure that your flooring is installed correctly, providing you with long-lasting protection and optimal performance. 

Floor Preparation

The existing floor must be thoroughly cleaned and prepared to ensure proper adhesion of the epoxy. This includes removing old coatings, dirt, dust, grease, and any other particles that may interfere with the proper application of the products. 

In some cases, the surface may need to be ground or shot-blasted to create a rough texture where the epoxy can bond more effectively.

Laying Copper Tape

Copper tape serves as a conductive pathway to direct static electricity away from the floor’s surface and into the grounding system. The copper, as a conductive connection, enhances the overall anti-static performance of the flooring system — especially in grounding systems.

Applying Primer and Body Coats

A primer is applied to the prepared surface to improve the adhesion of the epoxy coating. This can also contain anti-static properties depending on the requirements of the facility. 

Primers normally contain several components to facilitate their application, adherence, and resistance to the flooring. Some of these components include:

• Epoxy resin: This provides a strong adhesive bond with the anti-static topcoat. The resin makes flooring durable and resistant to wear. 
• Conductive additives: Additives are incorporated to help control and dissipate static charges. The conductive materials allow the primer to create a path for electrostatic discharge to flow safely to the ground.
• Filler materials: Additional components may be aggregated to enhance the texture, help with leveling, and improve the bonding capabilities of the materials.

Grounding

While anti-static epoxy itself helps control static electricity, it relies on a grounding system to complete the discharge process using an electrical outlet. 

To effectively neutralize static electricity, the charges need to have a pathway to safely flow to the ground. Without proper grounding, the static charge could remain on the surface, posing a risk to people and sensitive equipment. 

Given the critical importance of grounding, it is recommended to reach out to experts to ensure the effectiveness and safety of your flooring installation. Contact Treadwell today. Our skilled professionals with years of experience will ensure the installation of your anti-static epoxy flooring is done properly and securely.

Testing

Testing is the biggest guideline in the installation of anti-static flooring. Our experts can help you assess the correct functioning of the system and its parts to ensure perfect performance. Treadwell uses specific testing equipment that measures the conductivity or resistance in the area. 

Testing is extremely important. If not done correctly, it can cost loads of money to fix. Trust our experts and get in touch with us today to begin the process of applying anti-static epoxy flooring. We are here to help every step of the way!

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and Electrostatic Control (ESC) are types of flooring designed to protect sensitive electronic equipment from static electricity. 

ESD is specially designed to dissipate static electricity by directing it away from sensitive areas where devices are located and the buildup of static charges could damage them. 

On the other hand, ESC is designed to control static electricity instead of dissipating it. Because it does not allow an immediate discharge, it ensures a controlled environment where the electrostatic charges are kept within safe limits. Although both are important, they technically serve different purposes based on the level of static control required.

If you are thinking about getting anti-static epoxy flooring in Kansas City, Treadwell is your best option! 

Whether your goal is static control, decorative, or seamless epoxy flooring, we want to help you create a safe, static-controlled environment. Our installation process involves precise steps that require the best materials, professionals, and a lot of experience. 

Treadwell can install the perfect anti-static epoxy flooring adapting entirely to your needs. Contact us today to get started.