A cleaner concrete look for public and service areas

Trolleys raise dust between the shelves

The castors of shopping trolleys and roll cages run along the same routes every day. The soft top layer of the concrete breaks down into fine dust that rises behind the wheels and settles on the lower shelves and the goods. The floor looks dull and patchy, even after sweeping.

Illustration: A sales aisle between shelves of goods. A shopping trolley moves along the aisle, and dust rises behind its castors and settles on the lower shelf and at the shelf base. The floor is dull and patchy.

Liquids soak in behind the scenes

Roll cages loaded with crates of drinks stand in front of the doors to the stockroom. The crates drip, and water is left behind after wet cleaning too. Untreated concrete draws the liquid into its capillaries, leaving dark stains and an increasingly patchy floor.

Illustration: The back-of-house area in front of double doors to the stockroom, marked with a yellow line. Liquid drips from a roll cage onto the floor, the puddle soaks in and leaves a dark stain. An enlarged section shows water moving through the capillaries into the concrete.

Treatment at night, section by section

First we clean the floor and, where needed, grind it to open the pores again. HARD penetrates the surface layer and reacts there, making the layer harder. SEAL 3.0 seals the surface so that it dusts less and is easier to clean. In the back-of-house area we add PROTEC, which improves stain protection. There is no film on top, so the concrete keeps its own look.

On self-levelling compound we use DENS, and on ground concrete the polished concrete sequence. We confirm the choice during the site visit and then plan the schedule and the order of sections.

Illustration: The shop is closed and the clock shows late evening. The aisle has been ground and treated with HARD and SEAL 3.0, and a fresh application of PROTEC is marked in violet in the back-of-house area. An enlarged section shows the surface layer where HARD has reacted marked in violet; there is no film on top.

Night-time cleaning, a more even look

At night, a cleaning machine with a diamond pad removes grit and dirt that would otherwise grind the surface. In the morning, trolleys follow the same routes, but only a little dust rises behind them. A drop in the back-of-house area stays on the surface, so you can wipe it up before it soaks in. The concrete keeps its natural look, with no glossy or coloured film.

Cleaning and maintenance

Illustration: After night-time machine cleaning, a shopping trolley moves along the aisle in the morning and only a few grains of dust rise behind it. A drop from the roll cage stays on the surface as a bead, also in the enlarged section. The floor looks more even, with fewer stains.