You might be asking yourself, “Why do I need to add yet another maintenance chore at my house? After all, isn’t concrete maintenance free?”  We hear you … and there is some truth to “maintenance free” concrete, but just a sliver.  In reality, there is nothing around your home that truly is maintenance free … nothing.

Concrete is a pretty amazing product when you stop to think about what it is expected to do.  And it’s continually subjected to liquids leaking from vehicles, tire marks, pet damage, snow melt chemicals and salts, UV rays, de-icers, dirt, grime, snow, rain, sleet, freeze-thaw weather cycles, hail, tire chains, kids’ toys, damage from garden tools and equipment, not to mention that it sits on a chunk of earth that is constantly moving and exposed to water.

The good news is taking care of your concrete can be as simple as cleaning it and repairing cracks.

• Keep the surface free of dirt and debris by periodically broom sweeping, using a leaf blower, or rinsing the surface with water from a garden hose.
• Immediately attend to stains by applying a cleaner or degreaser and power washing.
• In the winter, immediately remove all snow and ice, and pile it away from the edges of your concrete. For traction, use sand or cat litter – salts or chemicals can damage the concrete’s surface.
• Periodically throughout the winter on warmer days, thoroughly hose off the residual materials (mag chloride, road de-icers, dirt and grime) brought into your garage and onto your driveway from your vehicles.
• Fill cracks with an elastomeric or polyurethane caulking.