 | This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to content .(November 2018) |
Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world. The main job of most cleaners is to clean floors.
| This article contains instructions, advice, or how-to content .(November 2018) |
Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world. The main job of most cleaners is to clean floors.
The principal reasons for floor cleaning are:
The treatment needed for different types of floors is very different. [4]
Slipping is a common safety hazard for cleaning methods that involve water or other liquids, especially if the floor is left wet. [5]
Sawdust is used on some floors to absorb any liquids that fall rather than trying to prevent them being spilt. The sawdust is swept up and replaced each day. This was common in the past in pubs and is still used in some butchers and fishmongers. [6]
It used to be common to use tea leaves to collect dirt from carpets and remove odours. [7]
There are also a wide variety of floor cleaning machines available today such as floor buffers, automatic floor scrubbers and sweepers, and carpet extractors that can deep clean almost any type of hard floor or carpeted flooring surface in much less time than it would take using a traditional cleaning method.
Different types of wood flooring may require completely different care depending on whether they are waxed, oiled or have a polyurethane coating. It is important to determine the type of finish of a wood floor and always treat it in the proper manner, for instance it is difficult to clear wood floor wax from a floor coated with polyurethane. Simple cleaning instructions: [8]
Tile and stone flooring is common in kitchens, stairs, and bathrooms. Its cleaning process can be divided into three steps:
Vinyl composition tile or VCT is a common commercial floor type. Cleaning this type of floor is done with either a mop and bucket or with a floor scrubber.
VCT requires a polymer coating or floor finish to protect it. This needs to be kept clean with dust mopping and wet cleaning (i.e. wet mopping or floor scrubber).
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For cleaning floors, when a type of floor wiper is used, a liquid of cleaning agents is usually added to the water that is used with it. The product used may also depend on the floor-type such as parquet or tiles as some products can damage the floor.[ citation needed ]
Floor cleaners whose formulation includes certain fragants (certain monoterpenes) can cause indoor air pollution equivalent or exceeding the harm to respiratory tracts when the time is spent near a busy road according to a study. [9] [10]
A well-maintained entrance matting can dramatically reduce the need for cleaning. For public and office buildings, about 80 to 90% of the dirt is tracked in from outside. Installing a total of 15 feet of matting consisting of both indoor and outdoor sections will remove about 80% of this. [11] Thus, about two-thirds of the dirt can be removed at the entrance.
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum, is a device that uses suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load.
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. Both terms are used interchangeably but floor covering refers more to loose-laid materials.
Microfiber is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers.
A mat is a hard floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including:
A mop is a mass or bundle of coarse strings or yarn, etc., or a piece of cloth, sponge or other absorbent material, attached to a pole or stick. It is used to soak up liquid, for cleaning floors and other surfaces, to mop up dust, or for other cleaning purposes.
Housekeeping is the management and routine support activities of running and maintaining an organized physical institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as cleaning, tidying/organizing, cooking, shopping, and bill payment. These tasks may be performed by members of the household, or by persons hired for the purpose. This is a more broad role than a cleaner, who is focused only on the cleaning aspect. The term is also used to refer to the money allocated for such use. By extension, it may also refer to an office or a corporation, as well as the maintenance of computer storage systems.
Saltillo tile is a type of terracotta tile that originates in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. It is one of the two most famous products of the city, the other being multicolored woven sarapes typical of the region. Saltillo-type tiles are now manufactured at many places in Mexico, and high-fire "Saltillo look" tiles, many from Italy, compete with the terracotta originals.
Vinyl composition tile (VCT) is a finished flooring material used primarily in commercial and institutional applications. Modern vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring and versions of those products sold since the early 1980s are composed of colored polyvinyl chloride (PVC) chips formed into solid sheets of varying thicknesses by heat and pressure. Floor tiles are cut into modular shapes such 12-by-12-inch squares or 12-by-24-inch rectangles. In installation the floor tiles or sheet flooring are applied to a smooth, leveled sub-floor using a specially formulated vinyl adhesive or tile mastic that remains pliable. In commercial applications some tiles are typically waxed and buffed using special materials and equipment.
Swiffer is an American brand of cleaning products that is made by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1999, the brand uses the "razor-and-blades" business model, whereby the consumer purchases the handle assembly at a low price, but must continue to purchase replacement refills and pads over the lifespan of the product. Swiffer has become a half-billion dollar brand in fifteen countries.
Household chemicals are non-food chemicals that are commonly found and used in and around the average household. They are a type of consumer goods, designed particularly to assist cleaning, house and yard maintenance, cooking, pest control and general hygiene purposes often stored in the kitchen or garage.
Carpet cleaning is performed to remove stains, dirt, and allergens from carpets. Common methods include hot water extraction, dry-cleaning, and vacuuming.
Wood flooring is any product manufactured from timber that is designed for use as flooring, either structural or aesthetic. Wood is a common choice as a flooring material and can come in various styles, colors, cuts, and species. Bamboo flooring is often considered a form of wood flooring, although it is made from bamboo rather than timber.
A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who does the cleaning.
Mold or mould, also sometimes referred to as mildew, is a fungal growth that develops on wet materials. Mold is a natural part of the environment and plays an important part in nature by breaking down dead organic matter such as fallen leaves and dead trees; indoors, mold growth should be avoided. Mold reproduces by means of tiny spores. The spores are like seeds, but invisible to the naked eye, that float through the air and deposit on surfaces. When the temperature, moisture, and available nutrient conditions are correct, the spores can form into new mold colonies where they are deposited. There are many types of mold, but all require moisture and a food source for growth.
Vapor steam cleaners or steam vapor systems are cleaning appliances or devices that use steam to dry, clean, and sanitize surfaces. The steam is produced in a boiler that heats tap water to high temperatures to produce low-pressure, low moisture water vapor.
A robotic vacuum cleaner, sometimes called a robovac or a roomba as a generic trademark, is an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner which has a limited vacuum floor cleaning system combined with sensors and robotic drives with programmable controllers and cleaning routines. Early designs included manual operation via remote control and a "self-drive" mode which allowed the machine to clean autonomously.
A floor scrubber is a floor cleaning device. It can be a simple tool such as a floor mop or floor brush, or in the form of a walk-behind or a ride-on machine to clean larger areas by injecting water with cleaning solution, scrubbing, and lifting the residue off the floor. With advancements in robotics, autonomous floor-scrubbing robots are available as well.
Pledge is a cleaning product made by S. C. Johnson & Son. First sold in 1958, it is used to help dust and clean. Pledge is known as Pliz in France, and Blem in Argentina. In several countries, it is sold as Pronto.