Polished concrete floors are quite popular among homeowners these days. They are not only easier to clean but also affordable in comparison to other flooring options available in the market.

Polished epoxy concrete flooring is a versatile material, it can be customised in its appearance, using exquisite quarts, aggregates, and colours to achieve a one-of-a-kind ambience.

Technically, epoxy is a particular kind of resin that comes from the by polymerization of epoxides. Epoxies are typically employed as adhesives and coatings.

Specifically, epoxy is a thermosetting resin proficient in forming tightly linked cross-polymer structures. Epoxy is distinguished by its toughness and durable adhesion, especially when used for floor coatings.

Epoxy concrete flooring can be used in residential and in both commercial buildings

Polishing concrete floors isn’t a child’s play, and it includes a number of steps.

You need to put your best foot forward to get your desired results.

If you don’t know how to polish a concrete floor, you’re in the right place. We’ve put together all the steps necessary to complete the polishing process with the greatest accuracy.

Before you start the process, make sure you have the following things at your disposal: dustpan, broom, water, mild detergent, mop and bucket, vacuum, floor grinder, concrete finish, and polishing disks with 250-grit or higher.

Step 1. Clean the Surface

You need to clean the floor thoroughly before applying polish. You can use a broom to get rid of dirt and debris. Gather all the dirt at one place to remove it with either a vacuum or a dustpan.

Step 2. Mop the Floor

Pour some water into the mop bucket and add mild detergent. Mop the floor with utmost care to clean any residual dirt and debris.

While mopping the floor, be sure to pay special attention to mild stains, which are easily removed by a few wipes. Allow the floor to dry completely before you start polishing.

Step 3. Start Polishing with a Coarse Grit Disk

The next step is to use a coarse grit polishing disk to eliminate stubborn stains and make the rough surface as smooth and even as possible.

Start from one side of the floor, and use circular motions to cover the entire flooring area thoroughly. While polishing with a coarse grit disk, it’s crucial that you avoid overlays as you proceed.

Step 4. Use Fine Grit

After polishing with a coarse grit polishing disk, it’s time to use a fine grit disk using circular motions to work equally well on the entire floor.

As already mentioned above, overlapping creates seams and so you want to avoid overlapping as much as possible to achieve better results. Fine grit disk is used to get rid of any residual stains that are difficult to remove.

Your floor should look uniform and clean after the rounds of coarse grit and fine grit.

Step  5. Use the Finest Grit (the one that measures 1500)

A polishing disk with the finest grit is used in the end to give your concrete floor a glass-like sheen. You are supposed to use this disk the same way you did with earlier polishing disks. But you need to overlap your circles this time to get a beautiful finish.

Step 6. Apply Concrete Floor Polish for an Extra Sheen

Finally, use the floor grinder to add concrete floor polish to the whole surface. Congrats! You’ve successfully completed polishing your concrete floor. It’s simple, isn’t it?

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Water stains can be an eyesore on your wooden furniture and floors. Whether you have splashed some water onto your wooden cupboard or spilt some coffee onto your coffee table, it is important that you use proper cleaning methods to remove these stains.

In case you aren’t sure where to begin, we’ve highlighted seven tips to help you remove water stains from wood.

Clean stains immediately.

If the spillage is still fresh, blot away as much as possible and clean it up fast to prevent the moisture from seeping into the wood. The longer the moisture stays on wood, the harder it is to clean up the stains that remain afterwards.

Rub the area with an oily furniture polish, mayonnaise, or petroleum jelly.

You can rub any of these ingredients above onto the water stain and leave it overnight before cleaning it up the next day. This will get rid of most of the water stain because the watermarks will be replaced by the oil content within these products. However, if the stains persist, you can try more of the below methods.

Try toothpaste and baking soda.

Mix about ¼ teaspoon of baking soda and toothpaste together and rub this mix onto the water stain with some pressure. If the stained area is large, you can mix about ½ teaspoon of each ingredient.

This mix is also suitable for various other cleaning uses, partly due to the mild abrasive contained in the toothpaste.

Moisten a soft rag with mineral spirits.

Dip one of your old unwanted shirts into a mild solvent – this can be a mineral spirit or an odourless paint thinner.

Wipe the underside of the furniture to ensure that this solvent will not dissolve the finish layer of your furniture first. If you don’t see any discolouration after the test wipe, you can proceed to wipe the remaining water stains with it.

Mix equal parts vinegar and olive oil.

This mix can be applied with a soft cloth along the directions of the wood grains of your furniture. Most of the white marks caused by wet glasses will be removed this way, and you can shine your furniture up by wiping it with another cloth afterwards.

Make a paste with salt and a few drops of water.

Some water stains can be removed simply by mixing a teaspoon of salt with several drops of water and applying this thick paste onto the water stains.

Gently rub the water stain with a soft cloth or sponge in a circular motion until the stain goes away completely. You can also opt to polish the wood to restore its initial lustre.

Wipe and buff.

When you are done cleaning the water stains, you can apply a thin layer of paste wax to your wooden furniture and give it a long-lasting extra protection layer.

When this thin paste layer has dried, buff the wax layer by rubbing it in a gentle, circular motion with a soft, clean cloth. This process will give a lustrous shine to your furniture and floors!

Image via Pixabay CC0 License

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Uncontrolled, invasive weed growth in our backyards can be a huge eyesore. Thankfully, there are several weed-control methods we can employ to inhibit further growth or destroy these plants.

Several methods of weed control include herbicides,  physical control and cultural control, but preventive measures are just as important in ensuring an ongoing measure to control weed growth.

But without careful consideration, weed control can go wrong, causing more harm than good to our plantations, health and soil. Take caution in your landscaping and gardening efforts to avoid damages from weed-control mishaps.

[Read more…] about When Weed Control Goes Wrong