Winter is officially here, and while it’s nice to have some snow for Christmas, this season is very hard on, well, just about everything. The snow, ice, cold temperatures, and general moisture is prone to mess up and wear down clothes, cars, streets, floors, and more.

If you have concrete flooring in your home or business, it’s important that you protect it during this season. While concrete is known for being resilient, it can still suffer in the winter time. Here are a few tips to keep it in quality condition.

Easy on the Salt

You probably know by now that salt is very damaging to concrete flooring. Outside, it can cause moisture to seep into the concrete surface, refreeze, and break the concrete. While that won’t happen to interior concrete flooring, the salt can still cause stains and corrosion.

Salt certainly makes it easier to remove ice from your stairs and entryways but avoid using it when you can.

Rugs. Lots of Rugs.

The key to keeping your concrete protected during the winter is to keep moisture off of it. That means setting up strategically placed floor mats and rugs around entry points. The best strategy is typically to have a coarse mat outside, then a slightly softer one inside, and finally, a runner that leads them into the home or business.

Additionally, setting up a “no shoes inside” policy can help a lot.

Mop

Regardless of the steps you take, some water (and salt) is probably going to get on your floor in the winter. You’ll want to mop regularly to get it off the surface as quickly as possible. For high trafficked areas, that will probably involve mopping once or more a day.

For homes, you can probably get away with mopping once or twice a week.

Keep It Sealed and Maintained

A great way to protect your concrete is with some concrete sealer or an epoxy coating. This creates a barrier between your floor and the elements above. Sealed and coated concrete is resistant to moisture, allowing it to last longer.

It can also improve the overall appearance of your floor.

If you already have your concrete sealed, make sure to keep it cleaned and maintained. Once winter is over, it might be good to have it touched up. For residential and commercial concrete finishing and repair in Ohio, contact Select Flooring Systems today.

Together, we can help your floor outlast winter.