Some good cleaners include Castile soap, liquid dish detergent, stone cleaners and mild floor cleaners.
Bronner's castile soap is our favorite non-specialized product for surface cleaning indoor concrete floors. Dr. Bronner's is a nearly pH-neutral cleaner that comes in a variety of natural scents. Because the soap is concentrated, a few drops in a gallon of water is plenty.
Harsh detergents and cleaners commonly used for other types of flooring (such as Pine-Sol, bleach, and vinegar) are not the right pH and should not be used on concrete floors with a sealed surface. We recommend our own pH neutral, no-rinse cleaner specifically created for sealed concrete floors, CPI DecoClean.
Interior Concrete Floors:
Do Not use Dawn, Simple Green, Ammonia or harsh cleaners as they will work to damage and even strip the wax. The wax should last for several months or longer, but when it does start to dull or scuff, clean and let dry, then reapply a fresh coat of wax and let dry.
Use a detergent such as Dawn or Ajax dishwashing liquid mixed with water to brighten a concrete patio that hasn't been cleaned in a while. Just as you would regularly vacuum the floor and dust your furniture inside your house, you should keep your patio clean so it's ready at a moment's notice to entertain.
You'll just use a mop and a bucket of water mixed with a mild cleaner. Don't use ammonia, bleach or any highly acidic substance on polished or stamped floors. Some good cleaners include Castile soap, liquid dish detergent, stone cleaners and mild floor cleaners.
Because these coatings are typically easy to clean, you will not need any heavy-duty cleaning equipment or products. Instead, it is best to use soft brushes and mops to clean the surface of your floor. If you use cleaners or equipment that is too abrasive, you will find that they can damage the coating.
For some reason, this idea that vinegar will remove concrete sealer has become one of the more pervasive myths about concrete, and it is just that: a myth. That's because almost all concrete sealants are made to be resistant to acid, which vinegar is. As if that wasn't enough, vinegar can actually damage concrete.
You can use Simple Green Oxy Solve Concrete and Driveway Cleaner to clean a concrete patio with or without a pressure washer. It removes oil, grease, grime and most stains and discolorations. Its biodegradable formula is safe for lawns and pets.
However, vinegar isn't strong enough to remove concrete sealant. Sealants can resist acid, and vinegar is a much weaker acid than chemical removal agents. And worse, vinegar can damage concrete by dulling it and causing pitting.
There are some common methods used to get a sheen in concrete. These include using mechanical means like a wet polishing process using a special grinder, applying a sealer, or adding an epoxy coating.
Another relatively safe and environmentally friendly solution for cleaning concrete is an oxygen bleach product, such as OxiClean. Just be sure to wear rubber gloves, as bleach products can be tough on skin. Sprinkle the powerful solution over the entire patio and scrub it with an ordinary push broom.
The process is fairly straightforward, but it does require plenty of physical labor and time. You must clean and patch the surface, grind it smooth with several passes of a concrete grinder, buff it to bring out the shine, and apply a sealer to protect your work.
Never use ammonia, bleach, Mop & Glow, Pine-Sol, Lysol, or citrus-based products on polished concrete floors. Do not use a Swiffer WetJet-style cleaning tool on polished concrete, since the liquid in these devices contains trace amounts of solvents.
We strongly discourage anyone from steam mopping polished concrete. This is because steam pushes into the tiny pores in the floor under pressure, but these pores have been closed by grout to ensure a seamless floor.
In fact, vinegar removes mold from concrete better than bleach. Bleach will only remove the top layer of mold, causing the mold to return.
Vinegar is an all-natural solution for cleaning concrete. It kills mildew and mold, removes grime, and helps treat set-in stains. Before cleaning concrete with vinegar, it's essential to dilute it so you don't affect your sealer.
As a gentler cleaner, bleach can't harm concrete's durable material. Aside from being an effective cleaner and stain remover, it also acts as a disinfectant to the concrete surface.