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Your garage floor is out of public sight but always at the back of your mind. Only you know you haven’t cleaned under the car in more than a month now. The dust might be coming to life at this point. So let’s clean up before John Travolta makes a movie about the grease in your garage!
You could clean your garage floor with a pressure washer. But what if you can’t afford a pressure washer? I’m going to show you how to clean your garage without a pressure washer.
This is for my friends who like using good old mops and buckets. I’ve got solutions for your dirty garage too!
You’re going to need only a few things
- A scrub mop
- Detergent or soap
- Store-bought vinegar, or trisodium phosphate (TSP). These are for those annoying stains that need something stronger.
You should not scrub too hard because you might ruin the concrete. That’s why you should try a stronger chemical on the stains.
Here’s how you’re going to clean your garage floor so that you can see your reflection in it
- Clear the floor of your car, boxes, tools, and any electrical equipment.
- Cover any electrical outlets that may be close to or on the ground. This is important to avoid electrical shocks when you work with water.
- Locate and examine the parts of the floor that are the dirtiest, have the toughest stains, or look ancient. We’ll work on those first.
- Apply a little vinegar or diluted TSP to the toughest stains and use plenty of water to scrub and rinse them. Be gentle! TSP is for concrete floors so make sure your garage floor is concrete before using this. The chemical is corrosive to human skin, so wear gloves or be very careful while handling it.
- If the stains on your floor are organic or from rust, use a combination of vinegar, detergent, and water. Mix them together and apply to the stains. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes before scrubbing off. Rinse thoroughly.
- Either TSP or the vinegar solution should remove the difficult stains. But some stains like oil might be tougher to remove. In that case, consider using a different brush with tougher and thicker bristles. You can also use an industrial concrete cleaner.
- Now that you’ve removed the tough stains, mix soap and water to create a mild, soapy solution. Maintain a ratio of one part soap to 3-4 parts water. This is so that you don’t waste water rinsing the floor.
- Spread the diluted soap and scrub the concrete with gentle strokes to release any dirt. Rinse this off with water soon after scrubbing so the dirt doesn’t accumulate again.
- Let the floor dry before bringing your car in and rearranging your things.
And voila, you’re done! You’ve successfully cleaned your garage floor without a pressure washer.