How to Clean Cement Basement Floor?

Clean Out and Declutter Your Basement

You cannot clean any floor area properly that has items standing in your way. So, the best way to clean a basement floor is to clean out and declutter the area first.

Start by clearing everything out that you can move either into another room or outside in your garden for sorting. The idea is to pack less back in the basement than you took out. Sort through everything and get rid of the items that you no longer need or want.

Gather Cleaning Supplies

Cleaning your dirty concrete floors in the basement is not an undemanding job, especially if you have avoided it for some time. Gather your strongest cleaning supplies and equipment to help you get the job done.

A list of cleaning products and equipment you will need:

• Powerful heavy-duty vacuum cleaner
• A push broom with a large head
• A plastic long handle scraper
• String mop and a water bucket
• Rubber gloves
• Microfiber cloths
• Soft bristle brush
• Stiff nylon brush
• Cleaning solutions of your choice
• Spray bottle

Clean walls and other upper-level items

There is not much point to cleaning the floor before you clean and remove the dust and dirt from the levels that are off the ground in the basement.

Clean dust, dirt, and cobwebs off the walls, shelves, and the window sill, if you have a window in your basement. For this, use your powerful heavy-duty vacuum cleaner and the crevice tool attachment. Give the walls, shelves, and window sill a good vacuum. Be sure to focus on the corners of every area where you will find a buildup of cobwebs and many layers of dust.

Sweep the Floor

Next, move onto cleaning basement floors by grabbing the push broom with the enormous head and sweep the floor thoroughly. You can then take your powerful heavy-duty vacuum cleaner with the crevice tool again. Vacuum any dust in the cracks of the concrete floor that the broom may have missed.

Scrape off stuck dirt and grime

Inspect the floor for any dirt and grime that is still sticking to it. Either use a cleaning solution that will help loosen the dirt or a plastic long handle scraper.

If you decide to use the scraper, be careful not to damage the cement floor, or else you would need to repair it. Once you have loosened the dirt, you can run your vacuum to pick up the pieces.

Wash the basement floor

Give the basement floor a quick wash to clean most of the dirt from the floor. Use a bucket of warm water with a soapy solution, such as adding a scoop of laundry detergent to the water.

Mop the entire floor with the soapy water and then rinse it off with clean but plain water.  To rinse the floor off you can use the mop and bucket option or if you have a drain in your basement, you can grab a power washer or hose pipe. Take a break while you wait for the floor to dry.

Once completely dry, check the floor for any stains, and if there are, use one of the following cleaning solutions to remove them.

• Mix vinegar and water of equal parts with a few drops of dishwashing liquid in your spray bottle. Spray the stained area thoroughly and leave it for half an hour to an hour. Scrub the area with the stiff nylon brush before washing it off with clean water again.
• For something a little stronger, mix a quarter cup of ammonia in a bucket of warm water and scrub the area. Be careful with the ammonia; make sure that the basement has good ventilation by opening windows and doors or using fans.
• If you prefer cleaning the basement floor with bleach, then add a three-quarter cup of bleach to a bucket of warm water. Leave for a few minutes to give it time to work its magic before mopping up the solution with clean water.
• For extremely difficult stains, you can use trisodium phosphate mixed in the cleaning water.

Each of the above common household items is all used for a specific purpose in your home. Also, they are a solution for how to remove water stains from the concrete basement floor. They work for other stains too, such as mold and mildew, and do a magnificent job at removing unwanted odors.

We recommend that when you use the above products; it is best to use rubber gloves to keep your hands protected.

Leave to dry and replace the items

Leave your concrete basement floor to dry by opening the basement windows or by using fans. Once you are sure that the floor is dry, you can replace the items that you have kept in a more organized way.

In the future, to keep your basement clean, you will need to repeat the cleaning process often.

An idea to make cleaning indoor concrete floors easier, especially if they are unsealed, would be to seal the floor. Sealing your cement basement floor will not only make it look good, but it will also protect the floor from certain types of stains and abrasions.

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