Terrazzo floor surfaces are smooth and often sealed, making them relatively resistant to dirt and easy to clean. However, since terrazzo floors are typically installed with joints, cleaning the seams can be a bit challenging. To ensure that your terrazzo floor always remains as clean as new, it is essential to have the correct and comprehensive cleaning methods in place. Therefore, in this blog, some tips and tricks have been collected to guide you in cleaning terrazzo floor more efficiently.
What is Terrazzo Floor? Know Your Terrazzo System
Before moving directly to the cleanup methods, let's first grasp more details about terrazzo to ensure better cleaning effects.
Terrazzo is a kind of composite material made up of marble chips and concrete or resin. Designed to reveal a marbled appearance, terrazzo floors can give your house a luxurious look at an affordable price. Some types of terrazzo also incorporate mother of pearl or abalone shells with various appearances to create special patterns.
Referring to the materials, the most commonly-seen terrazzo floors on the market can be two types:
- Traditional cement-based terrazzo: This type is mixed with cement and a variety of aggregates like marble, granite, glass, etc. to create unique appearances;
- Epoxy resin terrazzo:It is mainly used for building intricate designs and patterns, giving the surface a modern look.
Terrazzo floors come in different materials, so cleaning methods vary accordingly. A gentle approach involves using a soft brush or vacuum to remove dust and debris. Additionally, you can clean terrazzo floors with neutral detergent and warm water for deep cleaning. However, be cautious not to use abrasive objects on cement-based terrazzo floors to prevent scratching. For epoxy resin terrazzo floors, avoid spilling strong acidic substances, as they can corrode and damage the floor.
What is the best cleaner for terrazzo floors?
Terrazzo floors are made from pieces of marble mixed with cement or resin. They offer a sophisticated, marbled look and are an affordable choice for adding elegance to a space. Cleaning terrazzo floors requires special care, as using the wrong type of cleaner can cause damage. It is very important to use products made just for terrazzo floors and stay away from all-purpose cleaners and chemical solutions.
Recommended Cleaners
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Bona Stone, Tile & Laminate Floor Cleaner
- Overview of the Product: This GreenGuard Gold-certified water-based cleaner is great for cleaning terrazzo floors. Just spray it on and mop it up.
- Customer Ratings: It boasts a 4.5-star rating on Amazon and is noted as an Amazon Choice product.
- Price: It costs about $8 for a 32-ounce bottle.
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Rejuvenate Floor Cleaner
- Overview of the Product:This neutral cleaner is made to clean, protect, and repair terrazzo floors. It can be used often and is simple to use by spraying or cleaning.
- Customer Ratings: Rated 4.3 stars on Amazon and four stars on Home Depot for its effective cleaning power.
- Price: Priced around $6 for a 32-ounce bottle.
Cleaning Steps
- Preparation: Remove every item on the concrete floor so that cleaning won't be hampered.
- Vacuuming: Using a vacuum cleaner to get rid of dust, hair, and dirt in a gentle way. This step gets the floor ready for a deeper clean.
- Mopping with eufy S1 Pro: If using a vacuum with a mopping function, such as the eufy S1 Pro, add warm water and a neutral detergent. Mop the floor slowly, avoiding leaving the cleaner in one spot for more than 15 seconds to prevent damage.
- Drying: After cleaning, ventilate the area by opening windows and allowing the floor to dry completely.
Terrazzo Floor Care: 4 Vital Cleaning and Maintenance Aspects
To ensure a better terrazo floor cleaning effect and also take good care of it, you can pay attention to the following aspects and try these helpful tips to ensure an effective cleaning on terrazzo floors.
Use a Vacuum Cleaner to Dust the Floor
Doing basic cleaning on terrazzo floors is not a difficult task. However, as mentioned before, how you treat terrazzo floor cleaning can affect the condition of the floors in a far-reaching way. To avoid causing damage to the floors, using a smart vacuum robot like eufy S1Pro, which combines strong suction and mopping features, can provide you with more efficient terrazzo floor cleaning. You can follow the steps below to process cleaning a terrazzo floor properly:
STEP 1. Remove all objects on terrazzo floors to make sure no obstacles affect your cleaning around.
STEP 2. Next, you can use a vacuum cleaner to gently run it across the floor, picking up dust, hair, and dirt, and preparing the surface for a more thorough cleaning later on.
STEP 3. If the vacuum cleaner is equipped with the mopping function, you can add warm water and neutral detergents to mop terrazzo floors for a thorough cleaning. Pay attention to controlling the vacuum cleaner on the floor slowly to remove the stubborn stains. However, never leave the cleaner in one place for more than 15 seconds, as it could potentially damage the terrazzo floor.
STEP 4. When you have finished cleaning the terrazzo floor, open windows for ventilation and dry the floor in time.
DIY Terrazzo Floor Cleaning with Basic Cleaner
Cleaning a terrazzo floor appearance is not a difficult task. However, if you need to clean stubborn stains or the seams between the floors, simple cleaning methods like vacuuming and mopping may not be sufficient. Instead, using detergents can bring more efficient help to process an in-depth cleanup. Here will guide you to properly DIY a neutral detergent at home to clean terrazzo floors at home only by easy steps:
STEP 1. Prepare a clean empty spray bottle, then mix ¼ teaspoon (around 1.23 ml) of dish soap, ¼ cup (around 59 ml) of rubbing alcohol, and one cup (around 236 ml) of water to DIY the detergent for cleaning a terrazzo floor.
STEP 2. Take the spray bottle to spray evenly on the dirty spots on the terrazzo floors. You need to wait for around 30 seconds to 3 minutes or so to enable the detergent to dissolve the stain.
STEP 3. Then, use a damp towel or rag to wipe the stain. Now you'll find that the stubborn dirt is quite easy to clean up. If not, simply repeat the steps until it has been completely cleared.
STEP 4. Finally, dry the terrazzo floors to complete the cleanup. To save your effort, you can use a wet dry robot vacuum to do it in an automatic way!
Maintain Terrazzo Floor on a Regular Basis
In addition to performing careful terrazzo floor cleaning, proper maintenance is essential to preserve the floor's beautiful appearance over an extended period. You can essentially follow the schedule below to regularly maintain terrazzo floors:
Daily Maintenance - It is recommended to try a robot vacuum mop to clean and mop in an effortless and time-saving way. Then dry it timely to prevent water from getting slippery.
Weekly Maintenance- Apply a neutral detergent and use mechanical buffing machine to mop terrazzo floors. Then clean up the detergent with clean water to achieve a thorough cleaning effect. Remember to dry the floors promptly instead of leaving the detergent or water on them to avoid causing any damage.
Annual Maintenance - Carefully evaluate the signs of wear on the terrazzo floors instead of simply cleaning them up. When the sealer gets worn, you will need to reseal the terrazzo flooring.
Avoid Terrazzo Floor Cleaning Mistakes
To process a regular terrazzo floor cleaning by yourself, you need to avoid certain mistakes and prevent from causing damage to your terrazzo floors:
- Don't leave the cleaning detergent on terrazzo floor for a long period, because this would cause streaking and dullness on it.
- Never use vinegar or all-purpose cleaners for terrazzo floor cleaning, as they can damage the underlying concrete.
- Avoid applying acrylic floor finishes to terrazzo floor cleaning because they can cause discoloration, staining, and loss of gloss on your floors.
- Avoid using hard materials to wipe terrazzo floors as they would cause scratching and badly damage the appearance of them.
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Conclusion
It is not a difficult task to process cleaning a terrazzo floor and do regular maintenance on the floors. With the practical tips mentioned in this blog, you can surely keep your terrazzo floors in good condition by treating them in proper ways.
