Mostly sweeping, a gentle cleaner, and knowing what to leave in the cabinet.
A coated floor is easy to keep clean. The mistakes are in the products: some cleaners dull the gloss over time. Here's the routine, what to skip, and how to handle tire marks.
Most of this is written for epoxy. If your floor is polyaspartic or has a different topcoat, check your installer's care sheet. It wins if it says something different.
Every week or two
When it looks dirty
You don't need special products. The job is to get grit off and keep the gloss intact.
Cleaners
| Product | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| pH-neutral floor cleaner | Use | Cleans without leaving a film or dulling the finish |
| Clear ammonia and warm water | Use | A common installer recommendation. Rinse afterward |
| Concrete degreaser | Use, for tire marks and grease | Lifts scuffs and grease. Test a small spot first |
| Vinegar and citrus cleaners | Skip | They're acids, which installers say slowly dull the gloss |
| Bleach and harsh solvents | Skip | Unnecessary, and they can affect the finish |
| Scrub pads, steel wool, stiff brushes | Skip | They scratch and dull the surface |
| Dish soap | Installers disagree | Some say a little in warm water is fine. Others say soap leaves a hazy, slippery film. If you use it, use very little and rinse well |
Installers aren't unanimous. If a cleaner isn't on your installer's care sheet, test it on a small, out-of-sight spot first.
Dark marks where tires sit are common. Start gently. Apply a concrete degreaser, or a cleaner like Simple Green at normal strength, let it sit a few minutes, then scrub with a nylon brush. For black scuffs, a melamine sponge (a Magic Eraser) with a little water can buff them out.
Then check what you're looking at. A mark that scrubs off is a stain. A mark where the coating itself lifts with the tire is hot tire pickup, a bonding failure, and cleaning won't fix it. See what to do about a peeling floor.
Our take: If the marks keep coming back, or the coating lifts with them, the problem isn't your cleaning routine.
Loose grit, dragged objects and sharp edges do more harm than any cleaner.
Put mats under the car and in work areas, use sliders or felt pads under heavy items instead of dragging them, and avoid sharp-heeled shoes on the floor. See our guide to garage floor mats.
A floor can look dull because it's dirty, because it's hazy from the wrong cleaner, or because the topcoat is worn. A clean with a neutral cleaner and a full rinse will tell you which.
If it's still dull, or you see peeling, bubbling or areas lifting, that's a coating problem, not a cleaning one. Start with our recoat, repair or redo guide. If you're still choosing a coating, see epoxy vs polyaspartic.
Installers use shorthand. Here's what the common terms mean, in plain English.
Keep reading
When a recoat works, how to handle cracks and pits, and when to grind it off and start over.
The mistakes that cost homeowners the most, and how to avoid each one.
The cheapest option, and what you give up.
Last updated 2026-09-30. If you spot something wrong, we want to know.
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