INTRODUCTION
Cleaning concrete is a service that many cleaning and restoration contractors overlook. If you consider all of the garage floors (commercial & residential), warehouse floors, walkways or entryways, driveways, porches, and patios, you will see there is a tremendous opportunity here.

We will discuss two different procedures for cleaning concrete: pressure washing with recovery, and rotary cleaning that will also include a recovery process.

PROCEDURE

PRESSURE WASHING WITH RECOVERY

STEP 1:
Pre-inspect area to be cleaned for cracks, chips, and other types of physical damage that could be increased by aggressive cleaning measures.

STEP 2:
Thoroughly sweep area to be cleaned to remove as much dry soil and debris as possible. In an exterior situation, you may choose to use forced air such as an air compressor or a leaf blower to accomplish this.

STEP 3:
Apply a pre-conditioning spray of Bridgepoint Hard Power and allow a short dwell time of about five minutes. This will emulsify the soils and oils and prepare them for extraction. Do not allow much more than five minutes. Unsealed concrete is very porous and could absorb the chemical, soils, and oils. You may elect to run the chemical through the machine if your equipment has this capability.

STEP 4:
Thoroughly extract the area with overlapping strokes using an SX-12. This tool pressure washes the area you are cleaning and recovers the water at the same time and deposits the water into your recovery tank.

NOTE:
Hard surface tools work at high pressures. Some of the industry's larger truckmount units that can produce 2000 psi are ideal for running these tools. You can use any truckmount that can produce over 800 psi, however, when cleaning at the lower pressure, you may need additional passes to achieve the desired results. Some companies use a pressure washer for the rinsing process, and use their truckmount for the recovery.

ROTARY CLEANING WITH RECOVERY

STEP 1:
Pre-inspect area to be cleaned for cracks, chips, and other types of physical damage that could be increased by aggressive cleaning measures.

STEP 2:
Thoroughly sweep area to be cleaned to remove as much dry soil and debris as possible. In an exterior situation, you may choose to use forced air such as an air compressor or a leaf blower to accomplish this.

STEP 3:
Mix an RTU solution of Hard Power in the shower feed delivery tank of your rotary machine.

STEP 4:
Thoroughly scrub the area with overlapping strokes using a rotary scrubber and brush.

STEP 5:
Perform a wet vacuum extraction using the SX-12. For best results, extract immediately after scrubbing. For this reason, this process will often be more easily performed with two technicians.

CONCLUSION
You will not always remove all the oils and grease from unsealed concrete that has not been maintained. If you wish to go the extra mile toward removing oily stains, apply a poultice that will draw up the oil as it dries. For exterior concrete, some cleaners have made their own by adding odorless mineral spirits to diatomaceous earth.

Aggressive cleaning may remove color from some color stained concrete. Always test first if you are not familiar with how the surface will respond.

Those who do specialized stone care may want to investigate diamond polishing of concrete. This produces a finish that can hold up to traffic, oil, grease and most chemicals with only minimal maintenance.