Cleaning Tools for a Concrete Floor

Pressure washers employ a strong stream of water to remove grit and grime.Pressure Washing York Stone image by T^i^ from Fotolia.com

Hard as a rock and porous enough to absorb stains, concrete rarely cooperates with traditional cleaning methods. Fortunately, readily available tools and materials remove both surface dirt and stubborn grime. Whether you're cleaning oil spots from the garage or cleaning dirt from the unsealed patio slab, become familiar with the cleaning tools for a concrete floor and gather a set suitable for your job.

Stiff Bristled Brush

A stiff bristled brush removes stubborn clumps and caked-on grime from concrete floors. Stiff and overly abrasive, metal bristles are generally unsuitable for cleaning concrete floors; their harsh scraping not only removes concrete sealer and finish but might permanently mar a concrete floor's surface. Stiff synthetic bristles, such as vinyl or plastic, offer abrasion without damage to a concrete floor's appearance. Used in conjunction with concrete cleaning chemicals, such as muriatic acid or disinfectant, brushes remove ground-in dirt, grease and grime.

Also known as hydrochloric acid, this strong compound eats away at a concrete floor to etch its surface and remove hard mineral deposits. The application of muriatic acid is a prerequisite for staining and painting concrete floors; the deep cleaning provided by this chemical prepares a concrete surface to bond with decorative treatments. When alternative cleaning compounds fail, muriatic acid is used to remove tough calcium and mineral deposits from masonry surfaces. Muriatic acid is highly corrosive. When using muriatic acid, a worker must wear eye, skin and respiratory protection.

The pressure washer combines water with compressed air to blast away at soiled concrete surfaces. Particularly useful outdoors, the pressure washer's strong spray of water penetrates a concrete floor's cracks, expansion joints, holes and divots. The pressure washer consists of two basic parts: a box-like body that combines air and water and a hose-mounted tip that expels the pressurized water. Once activated, a pressure washer basically becomes a point-and-shoot cleaning machine.

The dust mop gathers dry waste, including miniscule particles of dust, hair and cobwebs. As indicated by its name, this type of mop performs its duty without moisture. Mounted to a pole, the dust mop's head typically appears as a broad, roughly rectangular cluster of cloth strings. A worker pushes the dust mop across a concrete floor, gathers waste material into piles and removes rubbish with a dust pan and broom. While dust mops glide smoothly over finished or sealed concrete floors, their shaggy strings often snag on sharp, unfinished concrete surfaces. Dust mops clean garage floors, concrete sports courts and a variety of stone and masonry surfaces.