Preserving the Polish: Essential Maintenance for Your New Concrete and Epoxy Floors

How Should I Maintain My New Concrete Or Epoxy Floors?

Wondering how to maintain that showroom shine on your newly installed concrete or epoxy floors? The answer might be simpler than you think.

In this practical, advice-packed episode, Ed Rivas reveals the surprisingly straightforward maintenance secrets that will keep your surfaces looking flawless for decades. For newly poured concrete in hot climates, Ed explains the critical "homework" most homeowners miss: watering the concrete 3-5 times daily during the first 8-10 days. This simple step prevents the differential drying that leads to those frustrating hairline cracks by ensuring even moisture distribution throughout the curing process.

When it comes to epoxy floors, Ed debunks the myth that special cleaners are necessary. After allowing 48 hours for full curing, maintenance becomes remarkably simple – just water and a soft brush is typically all you need. He cautions against power washing (even though the surfaces are highly durable) and explains why ammonia-based cleaners should be avoided. For those concerned about humidity and moisture issues, Ed shares professional insights about vapor barriers and explains why new concrete must cure for at least 28 days before epoxy application.

The beauty of professional concrete and epoxy work lies not just in its immediate visual impact but in its lasting durability with minimal maintenance requirements. That's why Ed confidently offers a 20-year warranty on his garage floors. Whether you're installing new concrete, considering an epoxy coating, or simply want to protect your investment, this episode delivers practical, no-nonsense advice from a seasoned professional with decades of experience.

Ready to transform your concrete surfaces? Call Ed at 972-292-8057 for a free in-home consultation and discover why boring concrete is so last season.

To learn more about Concrete & Epoxy by CSI visit:
https://www.CSIUS.net
Concrete & Epoxy by CSI
972-292-8057

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
you're listening to ed the concrete man, the only
podcast where cracks get fixed,floors get fancy and concrete
becomes cool.
Hosted by ed revis, founder andceo of concrete and epoxy by
csi, serving up solid advice andeven more solid surfaces across
north dallas, whether it's yourdriveway, patio, garage or

(00:24):
mystery slab, we build andbeautify concrete and we've got
the trowel marks to prove it.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Your floors are finally flawless.
Now how do you keep them thatway?
In this episode, ed shares hismaintenance musts to protect
your investment and keep thatshowroom shine.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host andproducer, back in the studio
with Ed Rivas, founder and CEOof Concrete and Epoxy by CSI Ed.

(00:59):
How's it going today?
It's going great, thank you.
How are you, sofia?

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Ed, how's it going today?
It's going great, thank you.
How are you Sofia?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
I'm also doing great Now, Ed, always excited to hear
your no-nonsense advice.
Today's topic is all aboutpreserving the polish.

Speaker 3 (01:22):
So how should I maintain my new concrete or
epoxy floors?
That's a great question.
Well, concrete to start, likewhen you have a brand new
concrete, we typically havehomework, like for, let's say, a
homeowner with a new drivewayor a new patio.
There's always homework At thevery beginning when we do the
concrete beginning.
When we do the concrete,especially here in Texas, which

(01:43):
is a hot city, you have to, forthe first, like eight to 10 days
, you have to water yourconcrete Three, depending on how
hot it is, three to five timesa day.
What happens is when you pourconcrete, there are two things

(02:08):
that happens.
The base, like the actual soil,may pull some water from the
concrete.
So you have to make sure whenwe do the concrete, we have to
make sure that it's very moiston the bottom so the actual soil
is not pulling too much waterfrom the concrete.
So when the concrete is drying,it dries at a different pace.

(02:31):
It dries faster on the top, onthe top of the concrete, than on
the bottom.
So what happens?
You that's the reason you haveto water it to make sure that it
dries.
You keep it moist on top so itdries kind of at the same rate.
If you don't do that, there issomething called shrinkage,
which the concrete is liketrying to contract and because

(02:55):
it doesn't have the samemoisture.
That's when you have headlinecracks.
Headline cracks are actuallyper se normal.
It will happen at some point.
May not happen ever, but ittends to happen on concrete.
But if you do the homework,like watering your concrete
during the first eight to 10days after it's brand new, you

(03:16):
have a very way less chances forthat happening.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
I was just going to ask you what's the first thing
new floor owners should knowright after installation Any
cure times or big do's anddon'ts.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
So I just talk about concrete, right.
But, like I said, we do acoating like an epoxy floor.
The material has a dry timeTypically the materials that we
use per se in a regular garage,and next day the client can
probably walk on it because it'salready dry on the top.
But in reality it needs toleave it like about 48 hours

(03:56):
before they can even putsomething heavy or drive a car,
because it's curing and youstill can make marks on it.
Now, after that that's thebeauty of the epoxy when it's
cured, when it's completely dry,you don't really need a lot of
maintenance.
People always ask me so how doI maintain my epoxy floor?
Just water, water and a brush.

(04:21):
A soft brush will be okay,depending on how dirty it gets
right in a brush.
A soft brush will be okaydepending on how dirty it gets
right.
If you have your kids having aparty in your garage and having
like spilled soda and thingslike that, well, you may want to
use a little bit of soap, right, but other than that, you can
just clean it.
It's easy.
You don't need to add anythingon it.
The materials we use on the topcoat, especially in garages, is

(04:45):
called polyaspartic.
It's a very, very resistantmaterial.
The only thing you need to dois clean it with water.
Some people ask me should I usea power wash?
I don't recommend it.
First because it's notnecessary and second because
it's very, very strong thematerial.
But it's not indestructible.
And if you don't haveexperience using a power wash,

(05:08):
you may go too close or too deepwith the power.
You may mess it up.
So I never recommend usingreally a power wash.
You just need a simple waterhose, a broom or a brush.
That's it.
You don't need anything else Onthe garage floor.
We offer a 20-year warrantythat is going to look the same.

(05:30):
It's not going to change, it'snot going to peel, but you need
to maintain it, you need toclean it, which is important.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Most definitely Now on that note.
What kinds of cleaners or toolsshould people use or avoid for
regular maintenance?

Speaker 3 (05:48):
It's recommended.
You can use various types ofsoaps, but it's always
recommended to avoid soaps thathave ammonia in it, because
that's pretty strong.
I mean, like the materials arevery, very resistant but
non-destructible.
If the material resists oil, itdoesn't resist battery acid, so

(06:11):
there are certain things thatcan damage it.
So when people ask me okay,what kind of soap do I use?
Just this soap, a little bit ofit, this soap.
If you use a little bit it thissoap, makes a lot of cleaning.
If you really need to use soapbecause something spilled that
is sticky or something, use thissoap, but if it's just a

(06:34):
regular cleaning, water isenough.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Now are there seasonal care tips like
protecting against humidity,grit or temperature extremes.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
Well, humidity may affect epoxy, but not just
humidity on the actual ambient.
When you install it you want tomake sure there is not too much
humidity because as secures youdon't want to have humidity
trapped between the concrete andthe epoxy.
But after the concrete isinstalled it's no big deal.

(07:09):
You don't need to be carefulabout any humidity.
You can put an air conditioning.
You can put nothing on it.
You can do.
You don't need to worry aboutany humidity.
Now, when we install floors, weuse materials.
We always check to see ifthere's a lot of moisture on the
concrete, because if there is alot of moisture we need to use

(07:29):
other type of preventivemeasures, like a vapor barrier.
The type of epoxies we use havesome.
Some of them have already avapor barrier in it and because
if there is too much moisturetrap in the concrete concrete it
may affect the epoxy and pop itup.
If it's brand new concrete, wewill never use an epoxy on it

(07:50):
until it's at least 28 daysafter the concrete was poor,
because that's how long it takesfor concrete to really cure and
get all the moisture out.
Wow, Now any quick tips for spotwear and tear before it becomes
a bigger issue, like forconcrete, like for cracks.

(08:11):
Yes, if it's a spyware, it'smaybe a different issue, not a
simple issue, because headlightcrack is one thing and lot of
hairline cracks is different.
That may be an issue with theactual concrete, but as long as
the hairlines is just the cracksare just a hairline, you don't

(08:33):
really need to do anything.
There are certain materialsthat you can buy, like at Home
Depot, for fillers and thingslike that, just to make you feel
safer.
But in reality it doesn't needit, unless the crack is a little
bigger.
Then you may use differentfillers to make sure that you
it's really just to make it lookgood, because it's not going to

(08:54):
make any difference on how theconcrete moves.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
Definitely Now.
Any final words for us today,ed, on how I should maintain my
new concrete or epoxy floors.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Like I say, epoxy floor, it doesn't really need
maintenance.
That's the beauty of it, aslong as you use the right
materials, because they areepoxies.
They are very low quality likesome store that you can go buy
stuff to do your own epoxyfloors.
I will never recommend those.
But if you have somebody thatdo the job professionally with

(09:26):
the right materials, you don'tneed a lot of maintenance.
On, concrete really is reallyat the beginning where the
concrete is new.
Other than that, I mean theconcrete is concrete.
It's so resistant.
That's why it's everywhere.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
Appreciate the maintenance goal, ed.
Your practical tips help everysquare foot to stay fresh and
flawless, so we'll see you onthe next episode thank you have
a good one, sophia that's it forthis episode of ed the concrete
man, because boring concrete isso last season.

Speaker 1 (10:03):
Want your space to shine and not crack.
Call Ed at 972-292-8057 for afree in-home consultation, or
visit csiusnet.
From driveways to patios andeverything in between, if it's
concrete, we've got you covered.
Until next time, keep it smoothand let Ed handle the heavy

(10:28):
stuff.