Removing old carpet residuals sometimes becomes a daunting job when dirt gets rooted to the floor. People often consider hiring professional cleaners to remove hardened dirt and grime from floors and carpets. But is it possible to clean carpet residuals left on concrete floors by yourselves?
Our cleaning experts ensure that anyone can clean stubborn dirt and old grease from concrete floors after removing the carpet, but it’s essential to follow some expert tips. Otherwise, the floor might get damaged. In this post, Simple Living Insider covers an easy-to-go step-by-step process of cleaning concrete floors after removing carpet. Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
How to Clean Concrete Floors After Removing Carpet
When you install a new flooring style, it allows you to personalize the floor. But before installing a new style, you must remove your existing carpet and clean the surface. Sometimes, removing the carpet exposes glue that gets stuck on the floor. Hence you have to carefully remove the carpet to avoid any damage to the floor. Now, once the carpet is removed, your next step is cleaning the concrete floor:
Step- 1: Gather All the Necessary Equipment and Ingredients
- Gloves and other safety precautions
- Broom or a Vacuum cleaner
- Metal Scraper
- Warm water
- Trisodium Phosphate/Vinegar/ammonia (for an unsealed concrete floor)
- Mild or pH-neutral cleaner (for a sealed concrete floor)
- Hose, Mop, and clean water
Step- 2: Test the Cleaning Solution
You may need acidic cleaners or degreasers like trisodium/white vinegar/ammonia if the carpet residuals are deeply rooted in your concrete floor. However, before using such acidic ingredients as a cleaning solution, test the mixture in an unnoticeable space on the floor; if no discoloration occurs on the surface, you can apply it without any hesitation.
If your homemade cleaning solution discolors your concrete floor or seems harmful to the surface, then choose concrete floor cleaners such as Bona Hard-Surface Cleaner or Quick Shine to remove hardened grease or stains from the concrete floor.
Step- 3: Broom or Vacuum the Space
First, do the initial cleaning; you can use a broom or a vacuum to clean the concrete floor after removing the carpet.
Step- 4: Use a Metal Scraper/Boiling Water/Cleaning Solution
After done with the initial cleaning-up of the surface, it’s time to remove the stubborn dirt. Depending on the floor type (sealed or unsealed) and dirt type, you can use a metal scraper, boiling water, or a cleaning solution.
If your concrete floor is sealed, you have to use a mild or pH-neutral cleanser produced for sealed concrete floor cleaning. In case of removing greasy dirt or years-older carpet glue, you might need a metal scraper and an acidic cleaning solution like trisodium/white vinegar/ammonia; later, you have to apply the floor sealant again.
If the concrete floor is unsealed, then you can use a metal scraper, boiling water, or any of the cleaning solutions from below:
Mixture- 1:
- 2 TSP laundry detergent powder
- 2 TSP trisodium phosphate
- One quart of water
Or, mixture- 2:
- 2 tsp. dish soap
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1-gallon warm water in a bucket.
Or, mixture- 3:
- 1-part all-purpose cleaner
- 2 parts warm water
- 4 parts ammonia
Step- 5: Scrape off the Surface
If there is no strong grease or stains on the concrete floor, you can immediately rinse and clean the surface. Just scrape off the dirt and vacuum the surface with the vacuum cleaner for concrete floors. However, if you need to remove older glue or similar dirt and grime, then you have to apply the cleaning solution or boiling water, wait a few minutes, and then scrub the surface.
Step- 6: Rinse & Clean
When you’re done scrubbing the surface, wipe the floor with clean water or use a wet & dry vacuum cleaner to remove dirt from the floor. And then wait until the floor becomes completely dry. Now, if you want to install a new flooring style on the concrete floor, the surface is ready!
Summing Up
Cleaning your existing concrete floor is a mandatory business, especially when you’re changing the flooring style. Hence, removing carpet, carpet residuals, and tack strips are the big challenges in cleaning the concrete surface properly. Hope this article helps you with DIY steps on cleaning concrete floors after removing carpet. To get this resource available whenever needed, you can bookmark this comprehensive guide, and don’t forget to share your experience in the comment box!