Cleaning Hard Floor Surfaces in an Automotive Environment
At Proquip we get a lot of questions about how to effectively clean and maintain hard floor surfaces in an Automotive environment.
So we decided to post a blog giving an outline of the commonly found surface type and some information about how to maintain them.
Vehicle Showrooms
- Tiles
Showroom tile floors are mostly either finished in a high gloss or matt/textured finish for a vehicle showroom. High shine tiles are easy to clean and are best cleaned using a scrubbing machine with a red cleaning pad. Mat or textured tiles can be cleaned with scrubbing machine and a medium density scrubbing brush. Mild degreaser is the best chemical to use as there will be silicon and tyre marks present. The secret to keeping tyre marks off your floor is to clean them as soon as possible after they appear and remove stubborn marks with White Magic Eraser. Ensure any tile floors you get installed are properly sealed including the grout. Ensure the tile contractor properly cleans the floor after grout has set to avoid a grout haze issue in months to come. Try to avoid light coloured grout lines as they will show any dirt worse than dark lines.
- Polished Concrete
Floors in polished concrete that have been properly densified and sealed make an excellent floor that looks great and is easy to clean. These floors are best cleaned with a scrubbing machine and a red or green pad. A mild degreaser solution is the best chemical to use on polished concrete. When choosing a contractor for installing a polished concrete floor, ensure they are using a quality, endorsed product. Proquip can offer recommendations on this.
- Vinyl
Not seen so commonly in showrooms today however if you do have vinyl installed, make sure it’s coated with a good quality floor polish that can act as a sacrificial layer for damage or scratches. We would recommend a competent cleaning contractor to apply this for you.
Best cleaned with a scrubbing machine and a red pad, do not use a scrubbing brush on this surface as it could remove the protective coatings over time.
Workshop & Service Areas
- Painted concrete
Painted concrete surfaces are easier to clean than plain concrete as the surface is sealed to not let dirt and grease get trapped. A red cleaning pad is the best option for cleaning with a scrubbing machine. It is very important to keep these surfaces regularly swept free of dust and grit because grit has a sandpaper effect on the floor and can wear it back very rapidly.
A suction sweeper is the perfect answer to this.
If you are considering applying a paint system to your floor, we recommend that you use a trusted brand with a properly formulated product for floors as they will outlast cheaper varieties significantly.
- Unpainted concrete
Unpainted concrete floors are best cleaned with a scrubbing brush that will clean into the pits and cavities better than a pad system. A medium density polyethylene brush on a floor scrubbing machine is best for this. If the concrete has not been sealed or is porous, they may need to compensate with a stronger chemical dose and use the double scrub technique to loosen stuck dirt.
- Epoxy Floor Finishes
Epoxy floor finishes are the easiest to maintain as the surface doesn’t have pores for the dirt to get trapped in. They are best cleaned with a red or white cleaning pad and a mild dose of neutral cleaner or degreaser depending on the dirt build up. Always check the floor system manufacturers cleaning guidelines so as not to void any existing warranties.