How to Clean & Maintain Your Garage Floor
Cleaning your garage floor might not be the most glamorous task on your to-do list, but it plays a big role in maintaining the value, safety, and overall cleanliness of your home. Whether your garage serves as a workspace, a gym, or simply a parking space, maintaining the floor in great shape can prevent damage, reduce allergens, and make the space far more inviting.
Cleaning a garage floor isn’t as simple as spraying it down and calling it a day. Many homeowners unknowingly make critical mistakes that can do more harm than good.
From choosing the wrong cleaning products to skipping key preparation steps, here are the most common mistakes people make when cleaning garage floors, along with the recommended alternatives.
Using Harsh Chemicals That Strip or Etch the Surface
One of the most damaging mistakes is using industrial-strength cleaners that aren’t designed for garage flooring. Products like bleach, ammonia, or acid-based degreasers can corrode concrete, strip away sealers, and release harmful fumes, especially in enclosed spaces.
Why Cleaners Can Be a Problem:
Harsh chemicals can deteriorate the surface over time, especially if the garage floor is sealed, painted, or epoxy-coated. This damage may not be visible right away, but it can shorten the lifespan of your flooring dramatically.
What to Use Instead:
Opt for pH-neutral cleaners or biodegradable degreasers made specifically for garage floors. These are tough on grime but gentle on your flooring. If you’re dealing with tough oil stains, use enzyme-based degreasers that break down hydrocarbons without leaving a chemical residue.
Skipping the Dry Sweep
Before you reach for the hose or mop, it’s essential to sweep your garage floor. A thorough dry sweep removes dust, debris, and loose particles that can scratch the floor or turn into muddy streaks once wet.
Why You Should Sweep:
Without dry sweeping, you’re just pushing dirt and grit around. This reduces the effectiveness of your cleaning and risks grinding particles into the surface, which can lead to scratches, especially on coated or sealed floors.
Best Sweeping Practice:
Use a stiff-bristle push broom for larger debris and follow up with a shop vacuum to collect fine dust. If you skip this step, every subsequent effort will be compromised.
Improper Use of Pressure Washers
Pressure washers can be incredibly useful, but only when used correctly. Too much pressure or the wrong nozzle can damage your flooring, especially if you have older concrete or specialty concrete coatings like epoxy or polyaspartic finishes.
Common Pressure Wash Missteps:
- Using a zero-degree nozzle that focuses too much power in one spot
- Holding the wand too close to the surface
- Applying high pressure to cracked or unsealed areas
How To Clean:
Use a 25- to 40-degree nozzle, keep the wand at least 12 inches from the floor, and work in sweeping motions. If your garage floor has a specialty coating, consult the manufacturer’s guidelines first.
Ignoring Stains (Especially Oil and Grease)
Oil, grease, antifreeze, and transmission fluid are common garage invaders, and if left untreated, they can permanently stain your floor.
Why Stains Can Be an Ongoing Problem:
Porous concrete absorbs fluids quickly. Once oil sets in, it’s incredibly difficult to remove and may even degrade the surface. Some automotive fluids can also become slippery, creating a safety hazard.
How to Handle it:
Blot fresh spills immediately using kitty litter, baking soda, or a commercial absorbent. After letting it sit, sweep up the material and apply a degreaser designed for garage floors. Scrub with a brush and rinse with warm water. For stubborn stains, you may need to repeat the process or use a poultice-style cleaner.
Not Considering Drainage
Garage floors are often built with a slight slope toward a drain, but not all homes have an effective drainage setup. Cleaning without considering water runoff can create puddles, promote mold, or even cause water to seep into drywall.
Why Drainage Matters:
Improper drainage leads to standing water, exactly what you don’t want on concrete. Moisture can degrade both the floor and anything stored in the garage, like cardboard boxes, tools, or electronics.
How to Avoid Pooling Water:
Use only the amount of water you need. Instead of flooding the floor, dampen and clean in sections, using a wet/dry vacuum or floor squeegee to remove excess moisture as you go. If you have no built-in drainage, use highly absorbent microfiber mops or air blowers to assist with drying.
Using the Wrong Tools for the Floor Type
All garage floors are not created equal. Uncoated concrete, sealed concrete, and epoxy or polyaspartic coatings each require different cleaning tools.
Why Proper Tools Matter:
The wrong tool, like a steel brush on epoxy, can scratch or peel coatings. Likewise, using a mop meant for indoor tile on raw concrete will be ineffective.
What to use for Flooring Type:
- For raw concrete: Use stiff nylon-bristled brushes and concrete-safe cleaners
- For sealed or coated floors: Use soft or medium-bristle brushes and microfiber mops
- For fine dust: Use a HEPA-rated shop vacuum
Failing to Re-Seal or Protect After Cleaning
Cleaning a garage floor removes grime, but it can also wear down protective coatings over time. If you never reapply a sealer, your floor becomes vulnerable to stains, moisture, and wear.
Why Sealing Your Garage Matters:
Unsealed concrete will start to crumble, absorb stains more easily, and age prematurely. Even epoxy coatings can lose their shine and durability without periodic maintenance.
Best Coating Practices:
Inspect your floor after every deep clean. For uncoated concrete, apply a concrete sealer annually or biannually. For epoxy floors, a re-coat or refresh every 3–5 years will help maintain their appearance and performance. For high-traffic garages, consider applying a sacrificial wax layer that can be easily replaced.
Cleaning Too Infrequently
Letting grime build up for months or years makes cleaning more difficult and reduces your floor’s lifespan.
Calendar Your Cleanings:
Garages tend to be “out of sight, out of mind,” so they’re often last on the cleaning list, but consistent upkeep is key to avoiding stains, mold, and surface breakdown.
Set a Schedule Like This:
- Light sweep: Weekly
- Spot cleaning: As needed
- Full clean with degreaser and rinse: Every 1–2 months
- Re-sealing or re-coating: Yearly (or as recommended)`
Cleaning your garage floor is the best way you can protect one of the largest, most-used surfaces in your home. However, even the best cleaning routine won’t stop damage from chemicals or moisture.
Here’s where we come in
Concrete Coatings of Minnesota installs high-performance, commercial-grade floor coatings that are moisture resistant, stain resistant, chemical resistant, and seriously tough. Whether you’re dealing with bare concrete or peeling paint, we’ll transform your garage into a clean, low-maintenance, high-value space.
Call us at 651-458-0196 or contact us online for a free estimate on your garage’s concrete coating!
