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QUICK
GLOSSARY |
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Broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibres attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick.A smaller whisk broom or brush is sometimes called a duster.
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Brush ... they're used for cleaning come in various forms and sizes, such as very small brushes for cleaning a fine instrument, toothbrushes, a household version that is used with a dustpan, or the broomstick. Some brushes, used for professional cleaning could be even bigger, such as some hallbrooms, used for cleaning wider areas. Thousands of different cleaning brushes can be found, including brushes for cleaning vegetables, cleaning the toilet, washing glass, finishing tiles, or even sanding doors. Many brushes are unique, made specifically for a given machine by the manufacturer of the machines or a few special companies dedicated to make custom designs.
Carpet Beater or mattenklopper (from Dutch) is a tool used to clean carpets and rugs by hanging them up and beating them. It is usually made of willow switches woven together in a knot similar to a flattened Turk's head. The number of strands determines the rigidity of the mattenklopper. A two-strand mattenklopper would be more flexible than a three- or four-strand mattenklopper. Modern mass-production version can also be in plastic or wire.
Its use in cleaning has been largely replaced by the carpet sweeper and then the vacuum cleaner, but it is still sold in household stores.
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Carpet Sweeper is a mechanical device for the cleaning of carpets in place. They were popular before the vacuum cleaner and have been largely superseded by them.
However, some restaurant chains continue to use them (e.g. Perkins) as they are lightweight and very quiet, enabling the waitstaff to quickly clean crumbs up from the floor without disturbing other diners. Carpet Sweepers are still available from major chains like Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
A carpet sweeper typically consists of a small box. The base of the box has rollers and brushes, connected by a belt or gears. There is also a container for dirt. The arrangement is such that when pushed along a floor the rollers turn and force the brushes to rotate. The brushes sweep dirt and dust from the floor into the container. Carpets sweepers would frequently have a height adjustment that enabled them to work on different lengths of carpet, or carpetless floors. The sweeper would usually have a long handle so that it could be pushed without bending over.
The carpet sweeper was reinvented at the beginning of the 21st century, and fitted with an electric motor to spin the rollers and brushes. The device was rechargeable.
Patented by Melville R. Bissell of Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, in 1876. Manufactured & sold starting in 1883.
In some areas of the U.S., carpet sweepers are colloquially known as a "hoky" after the HOKY brand sweeper; the reference is used in either noun form ("Where is the hoky?") or in verb form ("Are you going to hoky the floor?")
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Feather duster ... they're used for cleaning. It consists typically of a handle and a segment composed of natural or artificial feathers which form the cleaning-contact surface. It is particularly useful for removing dust from surfaces. Feather dusters take advantage of the principles of static electricity to take up small debris such as dander. Extendable Feather Dusters can reach high spaces or confined spaces that are hard to reach.
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Mop ... a tool generally used for cleaning floors. A wet mop has a long handle and head made of thick, soft strands of water-absorbing fabric. The mop is soaked in a bucket of water or cleaning fluid and scrubbed against the surface. Some buckets include a wringer to strain excess water from the mop, so as not to saturate the floor. Mops are often used to clean up liquid spills. A dust mop or dry mop is designed to pick up dust
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Sponge is a tool consisting of porous material used for cleaning impervious surfaces. Sponges are especially good absorbers of water and water-based solutions.
Sponges are commonly made from cellulose wood fibres or foamed plastic polymers. Some natural sponges are still sold for the same purpose, although most natural sponges are now used either as body/facial sponges or as decorating tools for sponge painting.
There are three other categories of available synthetic sponges, low-density polyether (known as the rainbow packs of non-absorbant sponges), PVA (very dense, highly absorbent material with no visible pores) and polyester.
Polyester sponges are also sub-divided into a variety of types, some being reticulated (artificially broken-in) for ease of use. Other types are double-blown polyester, meaning that they have an high water retention ability, approaching or equalling PVA, but with visible pores and more flexibility of applications.
Sponges now have a reputation for harboring dangerous bacteria because the majority of sponges sold in North America are made of wood cellulose fibres. Since consumers sometimes keep cellulose sponges moist so that they do not harden between uses, any bacteria or fungi with which cellulose sponges come in contact have an ideal growing medium - wet wood. That is why major manufacturers are now treating cellulose sponges with anti-microbials along with the humectants used in the packaging to keep them soft until first use. Cleaning experts recommend a thorough rinsing before first use and also recommended that cellulose sponges be microwaved for two minutes on high when fully soaked in clean water before subsequent uses.
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Squeegee ... a tool with a flat, smooth rubber blade, used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is used for cleaning and in printing.
The hand-held window squeegee, used to remove the cleaning fluid or water from a glass surface. A soapy solution acts as a lubricant and breaks up the dirt, then the squeegee is used to draw the now water-borne dirt off the glass leaving a perfectly clean surface. The "swivel method", or "fan method" as it is referred to by professionals, uses a series of strokes combined with turns that hold the water away from the leading edge of the squeegee; when the turn is completed in the opposing direction, there is no water and no dirt left isolated. If a few spots are missed, a chamois leather cloth works better for touch up than a towel of cloth or paper.
In the 20th century, window washers began using the Chicago squeegee, a bulky tool with two heavy pink rubber blades. Changing the blades required the loosening of twelve separate screws. The modern single-blade window cleaning squeegee was patented by Italian immigrant Ettore Steccone of Oakland, California in 1936. The Ettore was made of lightweight brass with a very flexible and sharp rubber blade. The Ettore Products Co. is still the leader in the squeegee market today.
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Vacuum Cleaner is a floor-cleaning device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from carpeted floors, but also from tiled floors and other smooth surfaces. Most homes with carpeted floors in developed countries possess a domestic vacuum cleaner for cleaning. The dirt is collected by a filtering system or a cyclone for later disposal. Cyclonic separation is a method of removing particulates from an air (or gas) stream, without the use of filters, through vortex separation. Rotational effects and gravity are used to separate mixtures of solids and fluids.
A high speed rotating air-flow is established within a cylindrical or conical container called a cyclone. Air flows in a spiral pattern, beginning at the top (wide end) of the cyclone and ending at the bottom (narrow) end before exiting the cyclone in a straight stream through the center of the cyclone and out the top. Larger (denser) particles in the rotating air stream have too much inertia to follow the tight curve of the air stream and strike the outside wall, falling then to the bottom of the cyclone where they can be removed. In a conical system, as the rotating air-flow moves towards the narrow end of the cyclone the rotational radius of the air stream is reduced, separating smaller and smaller particles from the air stream.
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