How and When to Clean and Polish Terrazo

 

Terrazzo can make for a beautiful floor or wall. It’s made out of a combination of marble, quartz, granite, glass plus any other kind of suitable chips. They are poured together into a binder and then cured and ground polished in order to achieve a smooth and uniform surface. Terrazzo floors are not expensive but are extremely durable and very common. It doesn’t need a lot of maintenance but terrazzo cleaning does need to be done just like any other kind of floor. So, what is the best way to clean terrazzo floors? Let’s take a look at some terrazzo restoration techniques and find out how exactly terrazzo should be taken care of.

How to Clean Terrazzo Floors

1. First thing to do is the sweep the floor. This will remove any loose dirt, debris, crumbs, etc. if the floor is dusty then run a dry mop over it to get rid of those little tiny dust mites. Any kind of broom and mop can be used when cleaning terrazzo, either the cheapest brands or just the kind that you prefer. If anything is stuck to the floor, use a Spackle knife or spatula or toothbrush to get it up.
2. After sweeping and dusting you can use either plain water or a neutral cleaning agent and put it in a mop bucket. Wet your mop and pass it over the floor. You shouldn’t have to scrub at anything if you have already removed the debris. Allow the cleaner to sit on the floor for a few minutes. This will help to dissolve any dirt that’s left. If the floor doesn’t stay wet for a time, the dirt will just dry back on to the floor and your cleaning efforts will be pointless.
3. Now you can rinse the floor with clean water. Use a wet vac to remove the water. You might need to rinse more than once in order to remove all the dirt.
4. If necessary, once the floor is dry, you can buff it in order to bring back the shine.

How to Polish Terrazzo Floors
Terrazzo polishing is not difficult either, it just requires have the right knowledge. You never want to use anything oil based because this can discolor the floor. Before you begin terrazzo polishing, test the polish on a place that cannot be seen to make sure that it is not going to ruin your floor.

1. Once you have determined that your product is suitable for terrazzo polishing, go over the cleaning steps above. All of those steps are step number one to terrazzo polishing.
2. Step number two is to read the instructions of your polish and sealant.
3. You have options with polishing, you can either buy the polish and sealant at the store or you can simply hire someone to do it or you can rent a buffing machine or do it by hand with towels.
4. Should you choose the towel method you will need to procure several large towels.
5. After you have these and the floor is clean and polish applied, you’ll have to get down on your hands and knees rubbing the floor with the towel in circular motions. Using soft, white towels is recommended so you know that the floor is clean.
6. Wear cleaning clothes that you don’t care about because the polish will likely get on you.

You won’t need to polish every time you clean. Having a regular cleaning schedule established for your flooring is a good idea because often times, due to the nature of the floor, you won’t be able to tell just by looking how dirty it is. This is a good and a bad thing because it’ll hide dirt but at the same time, you won’t be able to tell if you have effective cleaned it. You’ll know when it’s time to polish because the floor will begin to start looking dull. Terrazzo should be shiny and bright and almost reflect the light around it. Once the light starts to fade, you can start looking into polishing it after your next cleaning session. How often you engage in terrazzo floor polishing depends on how much traffic the floor receives. An entry way may need to be polished more often than a back room where people don’t congregate.