Cleaning your garage floor doesn’t sound like that fun of a job, but it’s actually one of the more important tasks you’ll ever take on. The garage is a great place to store your cars and other vehicles.
But it’s important to remember that the garage floor is usually going to be dirtier than the floors of your house. That dirt can be extremely dangerous, especially if you have kids or pets.
This article is all about how to clean a garage floor. We’ll be giving you our best tips, tricks and advice, from removing stains to pressure washing.
Tips to Help Clean Your Dirty Garage Floor
1. Scrubbing the Garage Floor Clean
Cleaning your garage floor may not be as fun or exciting as restoring a classic car or tinkering with your lawn mower, but it is a necessary chore. A clean garage floor will help you get your vehicles in and out of the garage with ease.
Plus, it will help keep your garage free from clutter.
You can make your task easier and more effective by making a plan.
First, Decide What Tools You Will Need:
- You will need a good scrubbing brush or broom
- A flat-edged shovel
- metal-edged squeegee
- a garden hose
- a bucket
- a mild detergent
- rags or mops.
You can clean your garage floor with a combination of a good garage floor cleaner and a little elbow grease.
Also Read: How to Keep Spiders out of Garage
2. Removing Stains Like Oil and Grease From Your Garage Floor
If you have ever spilled motor oil on your garage floor, you know how hard and how long it can be to get the stain out. Motor oil is a petroleum product, so it can be difficult to remove.
However, you can usually get the job done relatively easily.
First, you need to blot as much of the excess oil as you can. Normally you can use shop towels, paper towels or clean rags. Then, use a solvent such as mineral spirits to sluice out the rest. If necessary, follow up with a commercial spot remover or powdered detergent, then rinse with lots of clean water.
It may take a few minutes, but oil stain will normally lift away from the concrete.
Also Read: How to Clean a Catalytic Converter Without Removing It
3. Removing Rust Stains from Garage Floor Surfaces
An acid-based cleaner often works best to remove rust stains from concrete floors. Commercial brands like Muriatic Acid (aka Hydrochloric Acid) work well. You can also use a commercial rust stain remover, or mix up a solution made from baking soda and white or apple cider vinegar.
4. Homemade Cleaning Solution
A great homemade cleaning solution that’s easy to make is as follows:
- All-purpose cleaner: Add a half of a cup of baking soda in a gallon of warm water.
- Or try mixing baking soda with a bit of liquid soap. We recommend liquid machine washing detergent. Use enough detergent to make a paste.
- This mix is great for scrubbing oily stains. Using warm, soapy water to clean and remove stains also works very well..
This homemade garage floor cleaner is so easy to make and works great to clean dirt, grime, oil spills, and all sorts of nasty stains off your garage floor. And the best part is that it is so much cheaper than the commercially available cleaners on the market.
Also Read: How to Clean Oil Off the Garage Floor
5. Pressure Wash
When you’re planning to pressure wash your garage floor, it’s important to know what to use as a soap to prevent the floor from drying out and becoming dull. You should use a soap that has no ammonia, bleach and is biodegradable.
For safety purposes, wear gloves and goggles to prevent your hands and eyes from being injured from chemical burns. Wash the floor with only one part soap to five parts water and check for dryness before applying a second coat.
Pressure washers can be rented from any quality hardware store worth their weight. Once you’ve finished cleaning the floors, you will want to protect your floors from moisture and dirt.
It’s best to install a garage floor coating once you’ve finished cleaning the floors. You can use epoxy, polyurethane, polyaspartic, or a two-part coating to protect the floor.
Conclusion
We hope you were able to learn some valuable tips on how to clean a garage floor from our article. As long as you remember the basics such as keeping your garage floor clean at all times you’ll be good to go.
As you can tell, It only takes a broom, some store bought or homemade degreaser, a good broom and maybe a pressure washer if needed.
A garage floor is just as important as any other floor in your home or business. By keeping it clean, you offer a safe environment for yourself and your family. If you run a business, your customers will also appreciate parking in a clean and customer friendly area.
