Best way to clean floor?

[Ohioan]

I've been struggling with this for quite a while.

So my ten-year-old barn is 40 feet X 40 feet, and it has a concrete floor with epoxy coating. My son and I do a lot of car repairs in it, and afterwards the floor is always a dirty, oily mess.

I first tried a mop with a water + ammonia solution. But it doesn't do a good job, and the oil ends up contaminating the mop head and ruining it.

I should also add that the floor is not perfectly smooth; the epoxy + flakes make the surface a little bit rough & bumpy. So one day I got the idea of pouring some water + ammonia on the floor, and then I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed it using a drill and circular bristle brush. I then mopped it up with paper towels. That did a good job! But it is very labor intensive and time consuming. I really don't want to do that again.

So what's the best way to clean it?

I think what I need is a floor scrubber. But they're around $500. Even then, I would need a good way to mop it up after using the scrubber. (Again, a regular mop seems to get contaminated with oil very quickly when I use water + ammonia.)

Thank you

 

[Garage Flooring]

I've been struggling with this for quite a while.

So my ten-year-old barn is 40 feet X 40 feet, and it has a concrete floor with epoxy coating. My son and I do a lot of car repairs in it, and afterwards the floor is always a dirty, oily mess.

I first tried a mop with a water + ammonia solution. But it doesn't do a good job, and the oil ends up contaminating the mop head and ruining it.

I should also add that the floor is not perfectly smooth; the epoxy + flakes make the surface a little bit rough & bumpy. So one day I got the idea of pouring some water + ammonia on the floor, and then I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed it using a drill and circular bristle brush. I then mopped it up with paper towels. That did a good job! But it is very labor intensive and time consuming. I really don't want to do that again.

So what's the best way to clean it?

I think what I need is a floor scrubber. But they're around $500. Even then, I would need a good way to mop it up after using the scrubber. (Again, a regular mop seems to get contaminated with oil very quickly when I use water + ammonia.)

Thank you

First, please make sure that whatever waste water you have from oil cleanup is discarded in accordance with the local guidelines.

If this were my floor I would test simple green and a deck brush to see how well the coating withstood it. Then I would pressure wash off.

If you have some really bad spots, a product that is designed for cleaning engines like Sonax engine degreaser may work well.

 

[Sumboodie]

Ammonia? Like pee??

Use a degreaser mixed in a mop bucket, whatever flavor you like.

 

[mrbill55]

I've been struggling with this for quite a while.

So my ten-year-old barn is 40 feet X 40 feet, and it has a concrete floor with epoxy coating. My son and I do a lot of car repairs in it, and afterwards the floor is always a dirty, oily mess.

I first tried a mop with a water + ammonia solution. But it doesn't do a good job, and the oil ends up contaminating the mop head and ruining it.

I should also add that the floor is not perfectly smooth; the epoxy + flakes make the surface a little bit rough & bumpy. So one day I got the idea of pouring some water + ammonia on the floor, and then I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed it using a drill and circular bristle brush. I then mopped it up with paper towels. That did a good job! But it is very labor intensive and time consuming. I really don't want to do that again.

So what's the best way to clean it?

I think what I need is a floor scrubber. But they're around $500. Even then, I would need a good way to mop it up after using the scrubber. (Again, a regular mop seems to get contaminated with oil very quickly when I use water + ammonia.)

Thank you

Diluted Simple Green works great (1 part of Simple Green to 8 parts of hot water)), a soft bristled push broom works best, followed by a dry head mop, you can finish with shop towels and let air dry overnight. Zep Neutral PH floor cleaner would be my next choice, read the instructions as far as water to solution ratio, same soft bristled push broom, dry headed mop, and air dry overnight.

Bill S.

 

[mike93lx]

I'd start by containing the mess before it gets all over the floor. Catch pans, drip trays, pig mats, etc. Getting so much oil on the floor that this is a frequent issue is a matter of being sloppy

 

[Ohioan]

Thanks.

Over the weekend I poured small amounts of something called "Mean Green" on the floor (it's available at Walmart) and then scrubbed with a push broom. Seemed to work pretty well. I would then put paper towels on the floor and mop it up by setting the push broom on the paper towels. Again, seemed to work well, but I went through a lot of paper towels.

I'm now going to try a different strategy: a temporary floor protector.

 

[Jsf721]

To clean the area time efficiently look for an auto scrubber you can find second hand. Google minuteman E20 or E14. Alternative is a 175 rpm floor machine with a soft brush and a commercial wet dry vacuum with front mount squeegee. Google minuteman sunami

Good videos on YouTube too

 

[Notgrownup]

You can buy some disposable flat microfiber mops with a flat Velcro frame. A degreaser will work best. Spot cleaning the grease or oil up will make mopping the rest of the floor easier. Amonia will only spread the grease around. If using a regular mop have 2 buckets With both degreaser solution and use one to clean and one to rinse The mop.

 

[BombShelter]

Keep your eye on sites like K-bid.com for a used machine, they go for next to nothing. Personally I use diluted Simple Green. If I need to vacuum up the mess, I have a Home Depot Bucket Head Vacuum that fits on their 5 gallon bucket.

 

[theoldwizard1]

This more for spot stains (especially oil). I use 100% Greased Lightning or Drive Up. It would probably take a couple of gallons to do your whole floor. Scrub in lightly with a push broom. Let dry (12-24 hours). Rinse well with a garden hose.

If the concrete is NOT sealed and the stain goes into the concrete, let dry thoroughly (12-24 hours) and repeat. I have NEVER had to do it more than twice, even on unsealed concrete.

 

[ALinCarolina]

First off I save any big pieces of corrugated cardboard when I cut open big boxes. Place it between. the runways of my 4 post lift. When it gets too dirty I throw it on my burn pile. For the rest of the floor i vacuum it first and then mop it using the squeeze bucket. I like Mr. Clean. Seems to work very well and I like the smell better than some cleaners. BTW the worst smell to me is Pine Oil.

 

[Silver 92]

I use a concrete floor cleaner, forgot the brand found it years ago at a state surplus store, and sometimes simple green. Can scrub with a push broom and also use one of the pressure washer floor scrubber attachments that spins with the water flow. Afterwards squeegee it out the door and mop the harder to reach areas.

 

[PWC Repair]

Ammonia? Like pee??

Use a degreaser mixed in a mop bucket, whatever flavor you like.

Awesome cleaner from the Dollar Tree is a GREAT degreaser. Dilute it 4:1 or even more and use the mop and mop bucket.

 

[Sumboodie]

Awesome cleaner from the Dollar Tree is a GREAT degreaser. Dilute it 4:1 or even more and use the mop and mop bucket.

La Awesome? I bought a jug off Amazob, haven't tried it yet though.

 

[PWC Repair]

La Awesome? I bought a jug off Amazob, haven't tried it yet though.

Yes, that stuff really is "awesome". I clean all kinds of stuff with it.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Simple Green or Purple Power works very well on these floors. You may want to consider if the floor is very rough from the flecks, sanding them down and adding another coat of topcoat (we can assist) which would make the floor much easier to clean. It sounds like the flecks were not scraped or sanded and hence the issue you are having.