How We Clean Our Polished Concrete Floor

Polished concrete floors are all the rage, but how easy is it to clean? Find out how we do ours.

Is this the best solution to clean polished concrete floors?

When it comes to cleaning, I would describe my style as sporadic. Rushed? Usually. Methodical? Almost never. Efficient? I doubt it. I ditched my traditional (entirely unused) mop a few years ago in favour of a steam mop, which enabled me to whizz around our old house without any bother and I’d have dry floors within minutes.

When we moved into Windy Ridge, blessed by the concrete flooring blokes, I set off on my merry way with a new-found spring in my cleaning ambition. I plugged in my steam mop and began… and then with a tug I had to stop. The cable had reached its maximum reach, and I had to move the plug. No biggie. But having to move the plug 4 times to do just half of the downstairs area, I realised something had to give. And if I didn’t find a better solution soon my floors were running the risk of never being mopped again. Dramatic much? My on-off relationship with cleaning is an especially fickle one.

The hunt for the best cordless Hard floor cleaner

So I began searching around for an alternative. Reverting back to my traditional mop was never going to be an option: with an open-plan house and twenty toddler toes scampering around without boundaries, the floor would have been permanently imprinted with toe prints and slip marks. It quickly became clear that there was not yet a cordless steam mop on the market, but one day during my mindless swiping on instagram I came across the Aircraft Powerglide hard floor cleaner. To describe it as love at first site is no exaggeration. The Aircraft Powerglide is a mop, floor buffer and best friend all rolled into one. It has two circular pads which rotate at an impressive 250rpm and can cover up to 20sq/m a minute! This I had to see!

As with any purchase in this field, trying to convince Danny I *needed* such a glorified mop required a slow, tactical approach. He had bought me a very fancy robot hoover for Christmas which included a mopping function, but it just couldn’t cope with our open plan space and so had to be returned. So I capitalised on this moment and ordered the Aircraft Powerglide with the money I’d ‘saved’ by returning the robot. Not only was this about to be the hardfloor cleaner of my dreams, it even came in the Windy Ridge colour of choice: black.

How to clean sealed concrete floors at home

A well-maintained concrete floor should be very easy to keep clean as it is covered in a strong sealant which should protect it from the inevitable wine spills and curry splats. But to allow this sealant to stay put and keep protecting, the main challenge of cleaning a polished concrete floor is that you can only safely use water on it. Anything else, such as high street floor cleaners, run the risk of stripping the sealant off and leaving the floor vulnerable to staining. The Powerglide has been designed to be used with water, but any liquid floor cleaner can also be used.

I couldn’t wait to get to started when it arrived. It comes with two different pad styles: the blue pair are slightly rougher and are suitable for floor waxing, and the pink pair have extra padded bits for maximised dirt collection, but both do the same job on my floor. So that was a great start, as it’s so handy having an available set ready to use while the other is in the wash. Both sets are machine washable and super easy to swap over.

 

The more experienced cleaners out there will be aware how important it is to make sure the floor is fully swept or hoovered prior to mopping and this is certainly the case with the Aircraft Powerglide. The pads do a great job of picking up dust, dirt and spills but will work at their absolute best in a dust free zone with fresh pads. I have got in the habit of swapping the pads every time I use the Powerglide, but that’s probably because I end up doing the whole of downstairs when I use it.

The lithium battery detaches from the Powerglide to charge it, which is much easier than finding a cupboard with a switch in and much tidier than having to leave it out near a plug. There are three light indicators on the battery unit to show the level of power that is left: it runs for about 30 minutes on a full charge and takes about 2.5 hours to fill the battery back up again. Winner!

So what’s the verdict? Is this the best device to washing your polished concrete?

These were my criteria and this is how it fared.

  • Speed: There’s no two ways about it, this is certainly the quickest way you will clean your hard floor. It is so nippy, and covers more ground than my toddler avoiding having her hair brushed. And not only is the job done quicker, the floor starts drying before you’ve even finished! Perfecting for whizzing round before Great Aunt Nelly nips round for an inspection.
  • Ease of use: Not only is it really easy to clean your floor with this, it is actually fun. Fun! Who has ever put fun and cleaning into the same sentence?! It gets right up to the edges, and cleans around legs with ease. It has been designed really well, so that the water spray button is in a very natural position, and it is unbelievably light when in action.
  • Finish: Not only do the floors dry super quick, the buffing motion of the pads result in a super shine which can’t be achieved by mopping alone.
  • Value for money: I get it, the Aircraft Powerglide isn’t cheap. But this isn’t a cheap piece of kit. Everything about this floor washing machine is heavy duty and feels very robust. The lithium battery life, power of the machine for the extent of the clean, the ergonomic design: none of these have cut corners and the result is a professional grade product which is perfect for every home.

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