How do I clean terrazzo floors?

To clean a terrazzo floor, sweep and vacuum the floor, soak the floor with a diluted alkaline cleanser, squeegee the floor, rinse it, apply sealant, buff the floor, and dust. This two-hour process requires a broom, a vacuum, buckets, water, alkaline cleanser, a squeegee, stone sealant, a buffing machine and mops.

1. Sweep and vacuum the floor

   Sweep the floor, and guide the debris into a central pile. Remove it with a vacuum.

2. Soak the floor

   Pour salt-free alkaline cleanser into a bucket, and dilute it with water. Submerge a mop in the solution, and soak the floor with it. The entire floor must be saturated. During soaking, fill another bucket with water, and clean the mop. If dry spots appear while the cleanser is working, drench them with additional cleaning solution.

3. Squeegee and rinse the floor

   After several minutes of soaking, squeegee the floor, and immediately mop it with water from the rinsing bucket.

4. Apply stone sealant

   Cover the floor with a stone sealant approved for use on terrazzo floors, and let it air dry.

5. Buff the floor

   Polish the floor with a buffing machine. Move the buffer in long, parallel lines until the terrazzo gleams.

6. Dust the floor

   Dust the terrazzo with a clean, dry mop.