Floor Cleaning: How Much Detergent Solution Is Needed?

Q:  How do I know how much detergent to buy?  I’m looking to remove grime and environmental particulates from the floor using a mop, scrubber, and/or power washer.  We have a 50,000 sq ft warehouse that is concrete and some aluminum diamond plate.

A: The recommended detergent for a general manual cleaning of this nature would be Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner or Liquinox® Critical Cleaning Liquid Detergent if a liquid concentrate is preferred.  For use of a power washer, a low foaming detergent may be required.  Alcojet® Low Foaming Powdered Detergent would be a good choice or Detojet® Low Foaming Liquid Detergent if a low foaming liquid concentrate is preferred.  A good starting point for the concentration percentage for dilution would be a 1% concentration.  Concentration is directly related to detergent capacity, or amount of residue the detergent can carry away.  So for routine maintenance, 0.5% concentrations can be considered once the 1% is used to perform a moderate to heavier cleaning duty.  One to two mop rinses should then follow.  Of course higher concentrations will tend to need more rinsing, but can be needed for higher residue applications.

Regarding how much detergent is needed, a good rule of thumb is 400 sq feet per diluted gallon (~ 10 sq meters per liter) for non porous surfaces and 200 sq feet per diluted gallon (~ 5 sq meters per liter) for something like porous concrete.   Theoretically, if you had sealed concrete you go with the higher amount of coverage.  A conservative approach would be to assume 200 sq ft per gallon of washing solution for your concrete sections and 400 sq ft per gallon for the diamond plate.

These rules of thumb for how much detergent coverage you can expect is applicable to other industries as well.  For specifics, we are happy to discuss further.

To request an Alconox, Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample. For more information about any one of our Alconox, Inc. detergents, consult the technical bulletin for each product. Or click here to access each of our detergent’s  Safety Data Sheets.

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