How to Extend the Lifespan of Your Epoxy Garage Floor

Epoxy floors are among the most used floor types in garage floors, sunrooms, high traffic pavements and walkways, and storage warehouses. Why is this? Epoxy material is hard and resilient, very tough and durable that even heavy object drops won’t break it.

So, you want to invest ina garage floor epoxy in Richmond or your commercial facility. You will want to get the highest value for your money, and obviously, don’t want to repeat the process ever again. Epoxy floors are not hard to maintain, given you follow several ground rules.

So, how long will a Concrete Kote epoxy floor coating last? Let’s take a look.

The lifespan of Epoxy Floor Coatings

Epoxy floor coating is hard, abrasion-resistant, and possess high-impact strength. When epoxy floors are applied in residential houses, they have been known to last for up to 30 years unscathed.

However, in industrial and high traffic settings, there are higher risks of damage from oil and chemical spills, drops and nasty accidents, which potentially make the floor wear out faster. For these reasons, industrial epoxy is known to last for about 5 – 10 years, or longer.

What Influences How Long a Floor will Last?

The following factors influence the lifespan of any epoxy floor in Houston.

• Strength of the concrete floor – Note that an epoxy floor is placed on top of an incumbent concrete floor, and the latter determines how long your epoxy flooring will last. Usually, concrete floors in industrial and commercial settings are made with a 3000 PSI minimum strength. 2500 PSI or less on a concrete floor is not recommended. Densifiers can be used if the concrete floor is not very strong.
• Surface preparation – How thoroughly the creators prepared the surfaces before applying the epoxy flooring is among the main perquisites of a long-lasting epoxy coating. Before application, you have to ensure that the floor is dust-free, and doesn’t have any oil or liquids or damage f any form.
• The thickness of the epoxy – Usually, an epoxy flooring is 0.4 mm – 1 mm thick. The thinner your coating is, the faster it’s will wear down and need sooner replacement. Some industrial settings have epoxy coatings that are more the 1 mm thick for durability.
• The topcoat quality – a garage floor epoxy in Richmond is recommended to have a urethane topcoat, applied for abrasion and scratch-resistant effects. Flooring contractors recommend a 0.5 mm thickness or more for industrial coatings.
• The extent of Traffic – High traffics levels of pedestrians on a floor can quickly wear down a well-installed epoxy floor. The same is the case with wheeled machines like forklifts. Epoxy floors on facilities with heavy traffic need to have an extra coat to extend their lifespan.
• Effects of UV light – One downside of epoxy floors is that they have low UV resistance. When regularly exposed to sunlight, the binder begins to chalk and turn powdery. For this reason, epoxy floors are not recommended for outdoor applications.

How to maintain your epoxy floors

Following these maintenance practices can make your epoxy floors last longer.

• Always keep the surfaces dirt-free

If dirt is allowed to preserve on the floor, especially if there is a constant machine or vehicle movement, it can cause scratching on the floor. Although they are hard, you start to notice the effects of grazing on the floor with time. We recommend using a vacuum cleaner that uses a soft brush.

• Avoid soap-based cleaners

We all know that soap leaves a haze if not well rinsed. This builds up over time after constant cleanings, and won’t look good for your floor. Epoxy floors don’t need soap for cleaning. Warm water plus a well absorbent mop are just enough. You can use a light soap for the tougher stains.

• Spot Cleaning

Never leave a dirt spot to overstay, even if it’s not cleaning time. It would help if you often vacuumed a small area where a spill occurred, together with the dirt on that part. Later on, cleanse the vacuumed area using a wet mop and warm water. It’s easy to clean epoxy floors, especially where spills have occurred, as they are highly water-resistant.

• Heavily dirty epoxy floors

This is how you clean a dirty best garage epoxy floor: Vacuum the areas thoroughly first, removing all dirt, grime, and grit present. Next, a hard foam mop and warm water will come in handy in removing the built-up dirt.

• Oil and Chemical spills

Use shop towels and paper towels to wipe off oil and other machine-related liquid spills. What’s important is not to allow the chemicals to stay for too long on the floor. Clean and wipe any paint, gas, household cleaners immediately the spill occurs.