After finishing a renovation project in your home or office, you most likely just want to see the results. However, you still need to clean.
Cleaning after a renovation may seem similar to regular cleaning, but you'll find unique challenges—like removing pesky concrete dust.
Are you in the final stages of a renovation project? Learn here how to clean concrete dust once it's finished! Our learn about our post-construction cleaning service.
How to clean up concrete dust after a renovation
In urban areas like New York City, you can find concrete everywhere—from tall buildings and house foundations to driveways and sidewalks. Because of this, it makes sense that concrete dust appears after a home or office renovation.
However, you don't need to worry; cleaning concrete dust is easy once you know how to do it. Here are the steps.
Step 1. Prepare for the task
Leaving the dust sitting in your home or office can be a health risk for people breathing the dust particles. However, you should also avoid exposing yourself while cleaning concrete dust. Here are some recommendations to approach this chore with precaution.
- Wear protective gear: Concrete dust contains silicate particles, and breathing them can lead to several health issues. Avoid exposing yourself by wearing a dust respirator with at least an N95 filter.
Also, you should wear gloves and other protective gear to prevent contact with your skin.
- Keep the area well-ventilated: Besides wearing a respirator, you can reduce exposure to silicate particles in concrete dust by keeping the site well-ventilated. If you have an air purifier, keep it running to remove harmful airborne particles.
Step 2. Vacuum from top to bottom
Even if you are cleaning dust, using a duster may not be the best option. It is because the finest particles in concrete can go airborne easily. Instead, you should use a vacuum cleaner to remove most dust—preferably a HEPA-filter vacuum with a duster attachment.
Start from the higher appliances and furniture, so you can remove all the fallen dust while vacuuming the floors. If you don't have a vacuum cleaner available, you could remove concrete dust by sweeping it. However, fine dust is abrasive and could damage the tile!
Step 3. Wipe dusty surfaces
If you are dealing with dry cement dust, use a tea towel to remove the most you can. It will be an arduous task, but this way, you can ensure the dust won't stick to the surface.
Once the surface is almost clean, you can remove the remaining dust with a damp cloth. However, moisture is often not enough to remove concrete dust. Damp the cloth with a cleaning solution to remove dust easily!
Here are some cleaning solutions you can use.
- Hydrogen peroxide: Pour 12 ounces of hydrogen peroxide into a gallon of water to make an effective cleaner. As you are not trying to disinfect the surface, the low concentration of hydrogen peroxide is enough to suspend dust particles.
- White vinegar solution: A 50/50 vinegar and water solution can help you remove concrete dust. However, you should spot-test before using it! Vinegar could etch stone tiles or damage other surfaces.
- All-purpose cleaner: if you don't want to make a DIY cleaner, you can use the cleaning product you usually use on that surface.
Hire a reliable post-construction cleaning service
Does cleaning after a renovation seem like too much hassle? Hire the best post-construction cleaning service in New York City! eMaids of NYC can send you a team of skilled professionals with top-quality cleaning products to do the final cleaning.
