How to Clean Your Garage Floor

At Bench Solution, we specialize in keeping your garage organized. One of the best ways to maintain the appearance of a clean garage is preventing your floor from becoming dirty and disgusting. It may sound trivial, but keeping your garage floor clean and clear gives the entire space a feeling of openness and sanitation. We will help you clean up and prevent the dirt, How to Clean Your Garage Floorgrime, grease, and goo that build up and make your garage look dirty.

You’ll need to take two things into consideration when cleaning your garage floor, what type of surface is it and what are you cleaning up? We will examine what types of equipment you will need to properly clean your garage floor and their application on various floor surfaces. If you’re looking for an easy way to make your garage appear more organized, take a look at our Bench Solution and IdealWall products.

 

Stains and Spills

Graduation parties, birthdays, and even football season bring with them ample opportunity for stains from various types of drinks. Cleaning these types of stains can be difficult to lift and remove unless you have the correct solvent, whether it’s homemade or store-bought. The following cleaning solution is a home-brew that is extremely effective for removing beverage stains. You will need to procure newspaper, three sponges, glycerin, white vinegar, mild dish liquid, and water. Fist, you’ll simply use newspaper to soak up any standing liquid. The next steps are pretty straightforward:

1. Rinse the stain with water.
2. Dilute white vinegar with equal parts water, then use a sponge to apply it to and scrub the stain.
3. Lightly scrub the stain with a sponge and a mixture of dish soap and water.
4. Rinse with water.
5. Blot dry with newspaper.
6. If there is a bit of stain remaining, use your sponge to apply glycerin directly to it in order to loosen it.

Oil & Paint

If you enjoy working with your hands it’s likely you’ve changed your own oil or have painted a reclaimed piece of furniture. First off, good for you! Secondly, you most likely made a mess and could use a few tips for cleaning oil and paint stains more effectively. Here are a few tips for getting rid of the infamous oil and paint stains. The main objective here is absorbing the stain and lifting it OUT of the concrete.

Mix up an absorbent solution by pouring 1oz. of trisodium phosphate and a cup of water into a small bucket and mix thoroughly. Add approximately a cup of absorbent material (baby powder, talc, or a finely ground cat litter) and mix them until they become a creamy consistency. Spread a 3/8-inch thick layer of the creamy solution on the stain, and allow it to dry for about 24 hours. Scrape off the dried solution with a putty knife or stiff-bristled brush. Next, you’ll need to scrub the area with water and a nylon brush using water from your garden hose. After you’ve gone through these steps the stain should be removed. However, if it’s not, you can simply repeat the process.

 

Rust

This may be one of the most common stains you’ll find all around the perimeter of your garage. Since you likely use your garage like the rest of us, you probably store metal items around the edges wherever you have storage space. Over time these metal items will begin to oxidize and leave a rust stain on your cement. Here are a few simple tips for removing minor and heavy rust stains in your garage.

Minor rust stain:

Rust does not stand up well to acidic solutions, so taking something as common as lemon juice will get you started on removing the stain. Simply pour or spray lemon juice on the rusted surface. Let the juice sit for about 10 minutes before scrubbing it away with a wire brush.Heavy Stains:

Heavy Stains:

An easy DIY solution to removing a heavy rust stain is white vinegar. Simply pour or spray the vinegar on the stain and let stand for 10 minutes. Like lemon juice, scrub the vinegar vigorously and rinse away the rust with cold water. Repeat this process for more difficult stains.

The final tip requires a store-bought solution. You need to find a cleaning solution that contains oxalic acid, such as Singerman’s or F9 BARC. They often come in liquid and powder form, so you can easily pour or sprinkle them over the rust-stained surface. If the cleaner is powder form, wet it with water and let stand several minutes. Scrub the stain with a stiff bristled brush and rinse the surface away with clean water. If the stain persists, repeat the process.

 

Dirt/Grim Build-up

Finally, we’ll take a look at the cleaning solution that is the most fun you’ll have…while cleaning a stain. Pressure washers are highly versatile and effective, and easy to operate for the majority of users. Here are a few tips for cleaning dirt and grime build-up in your garage:

1. Spray your garage floor with a heavy-duty degreaser or concrete cleaner.
2. Wet-brush: lightly spray your floor and sweep it down with a push broom.
3. FIRE AWAY! Take your time pressure washing and hitting every inch of your garage.
4. Squeegee the floor to remove any pooling water.

As you can see, there are a variety of methods that effectively remove stains from your garage floor. If you’re willing to take the time and put in a little elbow grease, you’ll have a garage that appears cleaner and more organized. It is amazing that simply cleaning your floor will make a world of difference in how the rest of the garage looks!