All types of flooring require maintenance to retain their integrity. Concrete floors may be strong and hardwearing but due to their porous quality, they are vulnerable to staining. There’s still hope though for discolored concrete floors – learn more about the ways in which you can improve concrete floors using smart tips.
Concrete Floor Staining Causes
As mentioned previously, concrete flooring is porous thus particles like dirt and moisture seep into the material’s pores and cracks easily, specially in the absence of a moisture control system. Water and colored beverages in particular include foreign substances that can increase staining.
Items like oil, grease, gas and different chemicals can also discolor concrete flooring. Thus, if you have this type of floor in your home, it is best that you try to prevent spills and leaks from happening. When a spill occurs though, it is advised that you clean and remove it quickly to avert staining. Sealing or waxing concrete floors is also an excellent preventive practice.
However, if staining is not avoided, there are still ways to improve it. Here are methods that you can apply to bring new life to stained concrete floors.
Improve Stained Concrete Floors With These Top Methods
1. Polished Concrete
A polished concrete floor is a popular choice for many contemporary apartments. To apply this method, the surface of the concrete floor is ground or buffed using fine abrasive pads. After the scouring process, the surface is sealed for protection.
This is a job for professionals but this method can be done by yourself, too. Do keep in mind that this process takes plenty of effort. You also need to rent equipment to get the job done and know the appropriate grit for the pads to achieve the polished effect you are after.
2. Painted Concrete
Damaged concrete floors can be fixed by using epoxy. This material is dispensed into cracks and gaps to level the surface of ruined concrete. The great thing about epoxy flooring is that it also comes in lots of colors so you can make designs that you fancy on concrete.
Epoxy, however, does not dry the way ordinary paint does since it hardens due to the chemical reaction that happens with its ingredients. This results into a very durable, sturdy surface. The level of difficulty involved in epoxy application usually depends on the intricacy of the design you prefer.
3. Acid-stained Concrete
To achieve this method, you need to use a phosphoric or hydrochloric acid and salt solution. The solution is applied to concrete floor that has been treated or hardened. The acid undoes concrete floor pores while the salt in the solution brings about a chemical reaction that results to stains or marbling on the surface.
The discoloration or staining that happens differ since the results depend on the materials the solution contains, the concrete floor’s porosity, and its age. Thus, it is best that you test an area of the floor first before going ahead with the acid stain method on the whole flooring.
4. Dyed Concrete
Enliven drab, stained concrete floors by using coloring agents that are water-based. Unlike the acid-stained method, coloring agents will not produce a chemical reaction with concrete flooring. It will merely go through the surface and provide color.
There’s no need to take away that stained slab of concrete and replace it with brand-new flooring. As mentioned in this article, there are still solutions to give old concrete floors a new lease on life. However, if you want to avoid dealing with a discolored concrete floor, just remember to have it sealed, keep it clean at all times and act quickly when spills and leaks happen.
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