How To Clean Terrazzo Floor-Maintenance And Polishing Guide

Terrazzo Floors are truly incredible floors, combining the most exceptional durability and equally amazing serviceability. Featuring the hybrid structure of marble chippings and cement, terrazzo is one of the sturdiest floorings with a flawless resistance against moisture as well as staining damage.

Besides, the ultimate best part is the fact that Terrazzo Floors are capable of lasting up to a good 75 years and can even remain durable for up to more than a decade when taken care of properly. This implies the need for uncompromised maintenance done on a regular basis, as heedful upkeep can easily benefit the user with promising longevity and cost-effectiveness.

And of course, in the otherwise situation, when Terrazzo Floors haven’t maintained the right way, they can easily go bad very soon.

Pro Flooring Guide has got it all absolutely covered for you, what you need to know in order to maintain your Terrazzo Floors in just the perfect manner. Apart from general look after, this also includes guidance about occasional maintenance procedures such as polishing, restoration, and others.

So let’s not delay taking care of our Terrazzo Floors anymore and treat them the way they’re supposed to.

How To Clean Terrazzo Floors

This essentially is the method that will also effectively restore all the shine of your Terrazzo Floors, as well, in addition to just cleaning them.

Day To Day Cleaning Of Terrazzo Floors

Here’s the cleaning method that you should preferably consider performing on a daily basis, so as to make the most out of your Terrazzo Floors.

Stuff You’ll Need

• Neutral Cleaner
• Warm Water
• Mop
• Bucket or Container

Steps For Cleaning

1. Mopping And Sweeping 

Start by mopping the entire floor surface to get rid of any dust, dirt, or debris accumulation.

2. Making The Cleaner 

Mix the neutral cleaner to warm water to make a diluted cleaning solution.

3. Cleaner Application And Scrubbing

Take a mop or rag to apply the cleaning solution onto the floor surface, while carefully targeting stained and problematic spots. Make sure to scrub them well, so that there’s no staining left.

4. Rinsing The Cleaner 

Clear out all the cleaner residue with a mop saturated with clean water. Rinse your floor thoroughly till you know that there is no cleaner residue lingering anymore.

5. Drying The Floor 

Let the floor dry completely before you begin the usage.

Deep Cleaning Of Terrazzo Floors 

Deep cleaning is actually the steam cleaning of floors since it features a porous structure, so it’s crucial to ensure thorough penetration of hot water and cleaner through the surface.

Stuff You’ll Need

• Non-acidic Cleaner
• Baking Soda
• Hot Water
• Bucket or Container
• Mop
• A toothbrush or any small scrubbing brush

Steps For Cleaning

1. Making The Cleaner

Start by mixing equal parts of the non-acidic cleaner and hot water in a bucket, followed by applying it directly onto the floor. Let the cleaning solution sit on the floor surface for a couple of minutes.

2. Mopping The Floor

Next up, comes mopping the floor. Do this in even yet thorough strokes so as to not miss any spot and also to avoid any streaking or scratching of the floor surface.

3. Stained Grout Cleaning

Take two parts of water and one part of Baking Soda and mix them together to make a paste. Take a toothbrush and use it to apply the paste onto the stained parts of the floor grout, followed by scrubbing thoroughly. As for the stubborn stains, you might as well, need to scrub a bit more vigorously for a couple of minutes.

4. Rinsing And Drying

Finish off by mopping all the paste from the floor, while being careful to not transfer any dirt. Once you’ve cleared the paste, rinse the entire area with hot water to clear up any of the residues. Lastly, go over the entire floor with warm water once again for thorough rinsing, so as to prevent the formation of any film.

Best Cleaners For Terrazzo Flooring

• You need to be extremely careful when it comes to choosing a cleaner for Terrazzo Floors because any harsh or non-compatible cleaner choice can worsen the situation in irreversible ways.

• Acidic and alkaline natured cleaners must be strictly avoided and so goes for other cleaners containing harsh chemicals such as the multi-purpose ones.

• When dealing with Terrazzo Floors, it’s best to stick with mild and neutral pH cleaners, that won’t cast any damage to the floor.

We’ve got you the best cleaner recommendations for the absolute best upkeep of your Terrazzo Floors.

• Bona Stone, Tile, and Laminate Floor Cleaner

• Rejuvenate Floor Cleaner

Maintaining Terrazzo Flooring

In addition to the regular cleaning, there is maintenance required by Terrazzo floors, as well, which ensures that any structural flaws or occasional problems are addressed well and that’s how you make your flooring stay durable and serviceable.

Let’s take a look at those essential procedures that you need to take care of.

How To Polish Terrazzo Floors

How Much Does It Cost To Polish Terrazzo Floors

In general, the very project of getting your Terrazzo Floors polished costs around $1 per square foot to $8 per square foot, depending on the type of polishing being done.

In addition to that, the overall project expenses can vary according to certain factors, which are:

• The entire surface area of your flooring will be polished, i.e. more surface area means more polishing cost.

• Whether the polishing is being done to a newly installed Terrazzo Floor or it’s a remodeling of an old one, i..e remodeling of the old floors is likely to cost more.

• The polishing method is used, i.e. Diamond Polishing costs more than both powder polishing and crystallization polishing.

How To Seal Terrazzo Floors 

Sealing is another way to upkeep the shine of Terrazzo Floors and it’s important because of the porous cement binder of Terrazzo Flooring, which is likely to absorb liquid stains.

So sealing or re-sealing the Terrazzo surface is an absolute necessity.

• Take a stone tile stripper solution and use it for stripping off the former layer of the sealer material by dislodging it. The stone stripper solution will react with the sealer material, causing it to dislodge and eventually come off.

• Next up, comes taking a floor scraper and using it for removing all the dislodged old sealant gunk from the whole floor.

• Make use of clean water for getting rid of any residual gunk or stripper, while also removing the rust stains as well, followed by letting the floor dry completely.

• Once the surface has been dried thoroughly, take a paint roller and use it for the application of a new coating of sealer. Wait for the next 30 minutes before you go for the second application.

• Post the first coating has been dried completely, go over the floor surface with another application of the coating and let this dry completely, as well.

Important Maintenance Tips For Terrazzo Floors 

While it is considered somewhat demanding to maintain Terrazzo Floors, the favorable outcomes, as well as cost-effectiveness, are absolutely worth all the efforts. You can easily make your Terrazzo Floors last even longer with these useful tips and tricks.

• Cement-based Terrazzo tiles must be re-sealed every 12 to 18 months and if they are in a moisture-prone area such as a shower stall or laundry room, then re-sealing every 12 months is a mandatory condition.

• Always use those cleaning products that have been particularly designed for Terrazzo floors as they do not contain any harsh chemicals and have a neutral pH, as well.

• Avoid using alkaline or acidic cleaning products such as Vinegar on Terrazzo Floors since the consequences can be really adverse, including dulling out, etching, and permanent damage to the floors. Plus, this goes the same for abrasive cleaners too, which can easily dig off the topmost wax layer of Terrazzo Floors surface. Also, never make use of bleach, all-purpose cleaners, and oils, as well.

• Ensure cleaning your Terrazzo Floors daily and this must include dust mopping and most importantly treatment of the stains.

• Use a neutral cleaner and a mechanical buffing machine to scrub those Terrazzo Floors that have been soiled heavily, in terms of weekly maintenance.

• Keep cleaning newly installed Terrazzo floors regularly, as the surrounding dust that was accumulated during installation is likely to sit over the floor again and again and it also takes a couple of days for getting diminished completely.

FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions

Do Terrazzo Floors Stain Easily?

Terrazzo Floor is basically a mixture of cement and marble. Besides, marble chips are also sprinkled additionally on the floor, right at the moment of installation, therefore nearly 70% part of the terrazzo flooring surface consists of marble. However, the other components of the floor, which is the cement part, are just the reason for Terrazzo Floors getting stained easily. That’s because cement has the tendency to absorb any of the stainings to which the flooring gets exposed.

Is It Okay To Use Vinegar On Terrazzo Floors?

While Vinegar might be the ultimate cleaner choice for most floor types, you must NEVER consider using it on your Terrazzo Flooring. That’s because the acidic nature of vinegar will cause dulling out of the terrazzo surface, as the first and foremost damage. Another worst-case consequence of using vinegar on terrazzo floors is the etching of its surface. Therefore, it’s always the safest choice to stick to mild and neutral cleaners when it comes to the maintenance of terrazzo floors.

How Long Do Terrazzo Floors Last?

Terrazzo Flooring, with its amazing longevity of literally a good 75 years, is nearly matchless when it comes to durability. Over and above, a well-maintained terrazzo flooring can even last up to more than an entire decade. At the end of the day, how much you’re going to benefit from your terrazzo flooring absolutely depends on the way you take care of it, besides, its structural durability. So carrying out proper maintenance is, by all means, a mandatory aspect in order to make the most out of Terrazzo floors.

How To Deep Clean Terrazzo Floors?

Deep cleaning of Terrazzo flooring is going to require the penetration of hot water since the tiles feature a porous structure. Start by mixing equal parts of clean hot water and cleaner in a bucket or container, followed by applying this solution to the floor. Let the hot water do its job by having the cleaning solution sit on the floor for a couple of minutes and then you mop the floor thoroughly. Mop the floor in even strokes, so as to avoid any streaking or scratching on the surface.

Is It Difficult To Maintain Terrazzo Flooring?

Terrazzo Flooring can turn out to be a little different and demanding to deal with at times, in terms of maintenance, as compared to other types of floors. That’s because of its distinctive and hybrid construction consisting of both cement and marble. Therefore, terrazzo flooring requires extremely careful maintenance and a specifically watchful choice of cleaners as well as cleaning techniques. However, these bit of demanding ways of caring for terrazzo floors are totally worth it since their average lifespan is a good 75 years and if maintained the right way, they can even last up to more than a decade.

How To Get Rust Stains Out Of Terrazzo Flooring?

Take an absorbent fabric and saturate it thoroughly in Hydrogen Peroxide, followed by pressing it directly onto the stained area. Next up, comes taking another absorbent cloth, soaking it in Ammonia and it atop the Peroxide soaked cloth, followed by letting the two clothes sit on the stain for the next one hour. After that, you can remove both of the clothes and wipe off the entire area which should be, by then, free of all the rust stains. Make sure that you don’t leave any chemical residue on the floor surface.