My unfinished basement flooded last summer when my sump pump failed. I've since fixed the sump pump problem (new pump plus back up) But the floor has this thin layer of dusty mud on it. I've shop vac and swept is, but I can never get it all. I've even tried washing it with my floor cleaner. I know I need to seal the floor, but do not want to be spreading sealer on top of the dust. How do I get the floor clean enough to seal it properly?
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Help please
- Thread starter Skooterj
- Start date
Compressed
Well-known member
Pressure wash with a degreaser(safest), wet vac and let dry
Phosphoric acid, diluted with water,
(As a Last Result if all that fails) DANGER! Muriatic acid but be very cautious with that stuff.
Phosphoric acid, diluted with water,
(As a Last Result if all that fails) DANGER! Muriatic acid but be very cautious with that stuff.
Pressure washer. With a fan tip, not a 0 degree needle nozzle. Then sweep and shop vac up the dust/crud/water.
Use carefully, as depending on how strong the pressure washer is (psi and what nozzle you use and the distance from the nozzle to the concrete) and how weak the concrete is you can etch the surface of the concrete. Or cut lines/grooves into it.
You should not need to use an acid treatment on the concrete, as that is usually used to chemically etch and remove a weak or 'dusty' top layer of the concrete itself and should not be needed to remove mud from concrete.
(unless the mud/clay/ground-water was rather acidic and ended up chemically etching the top of the concrete, in which case my first answer would still be "use a pressure washer")
Use carefully, as depending on how strong the pressure washer is (psi and what nozzle you use and the distance from the nozzle to the concrete) and how weak the concrete is you can etch the surface of the concrete. Or cut lines/grooves into it.
You should not need to use an acid treatment on the concrete, as that is usually used to chemically etch and remove a weak or 'dusty' top layer of the concrete itself and should not be needed to remove mud from concrete.
(unless the mud/clay/ground-water was rather acidic and ended up chemically etching the top of the concrete, in which case my first answer would still be "use a pressure washer")
I have an electric pressure washer, so I'm not worried about cutting the concrete. But I also don't have a floor that slopes towards a drain. Guessing a 2 person job then, one to spray, another to vac. I do have a surface cleaner attachment for the pressure washer though. Wish I could get one of those ride on cleaners into my basement. On a separate question, do those shop vac pumps work? Will they work with dirty water like this? Getting the water out of the basement *****. Carrying 12 gallons of water is heavy.
Luckily, the basement flooded mostly up through the perimeter drain through the sump pump pit, so it didn't carry a lot of dirt with it, but it just got everywhere. And now that it is dry, every time I go down there, I carry dirt on my shoes throughout my house. Or if I kneel down, my pants are filthy.
I had a carpet cleaning company out, they said they could do the concrete, but they wanted almost $2000 to do 2000 SF. Wish I could just rent a truck like they have.
Luckily, the basement flooded mostly up through the perimeter drain through the sump pump pit, so it didn't carry a lot of dirt with it, but it just got everywhere. And now that it is dry, every time I go down there, I carry dirt on my shoes throughout my house. Or if I kneel down, my pants are filthy.
I had a carpet cleaning company out, they said they could do the concrete, but they wanted almost $2000 to do 2000 SF. Wish I could just rent a truck like they have.
CJDave
Well-known member
You can dump the shop vac that is full of water into the sump. CJDave.