Self-cleaning floor

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Floor of a public toilet in Germany, designed to be cleaned automatically GER -- BY -- Munchen -- Weissenseepark (automatische Toilettenraumreinigung) 2020.JPG
Floor of a public toilet in Germany, designed to be cleaned automatically

A self-cleaning floor is a surface that has the ability to clean itself without external action. This ability is usually performed through automated pods set to dispense water regularly. Such floors are designed for hygienic usage, especially in places that require constant maintenance and cleaning, like hospitals and washrooms. In Europe and a few African countries, many ceramic tiles and sanitary ware manufacturers have products on the market with self-cleaning features. [1]

Contents

Industrial applications

Hospitals

The Grabo Silver Knight resilient floor covering is the first photocatalytic self-disinfecting surface. Its self-disinfecting property is accomplished through the use of Nano-Silver and Nano-TiO2 particles. This product is targeted towards the health sector, aiding in preventing the spread of infection in hospitals. [2] [3]

Dairy

The Cozy Floor is a self-supported, self-cleaning hot water heated floor system, designed to eliminate the use of bedding under calves. [4]

Food processing facilities

The SunWash self-cleaning floor coatings provide a washable finish and are developed to withstand high traffic and humid conditions in food processing facilities. [5]

Food service

Mechline Developments’ Sani-Floor consists of a suction pump and automatic waste lifting. The system is intended for use in any food production area to take care of spills hygienically and safely. [6]

Public restrooms

Many public toilets, such as the Sanisette, have utilized self-cleaning floor mechanisms.

Conceptual designs

The Smart-Floor is a concept designed by Svetozar Belogrozdev of Swansea Metropolitan University. It is a self-cleaning floor design that is intended to prevent dust and dirt from settling. Regulated vacuums cycle through the floor constantly while intelligent pressure sensors detect if there is anything in the room and automatically regulate the vacuum going through the tiles. The Smart-Floor is one of the six UK designs that won the top 100 designs in Electrolux Design Lab 2013. [7]

Another approach to self-cleaning floors involves the use of central vacuum systems beneath micro-perforated raised floor tiles to allow a small negative pressure to be pulled so that all dust and dirt are automatically collected.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleaning</span> Activity that removes dirt and other particles from people, animals and objects

Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, safety, or environmental protection purposes. Cleaning occurs in many different contexts, and uses many different methods. Several occupations are devoted to cleaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrolux</span> Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer

Electrolux AB is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roomba</span> Series of autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners sold by iRobot

Roomba is a series of autonomous robotic vacuum cleaners made by the company iRobot. Introduced in September 2002, the vacuums have a set of sensors used to help them navigate the floor area of a home. These sensors can detect the presence of obstacles and steep drops. Amazon announced its intent to purchase iRobot in August 2022, though the acquisition has been delayed by regulators in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hoover Company</span> American home appliance company

The Hoover Company is a home appliance company founded in Ohio, United States, in 1915. It also established a major base in the United Kingdom; and, mostly in the 20th century, it dominated the electric vacuum cleaner industry, to the point where the Hoover brand name became synonymous with vacuum cleaners and vacuuming in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Hoover North America was once part of Maytag, but was sold by Maytag's new owners Whirlpool Corporation in 2007 to Hong Kong multinational manufacturing company Techtronic Industries for $107 million. Hoover International had already split from Hoover North America in 1993, and was acquired by Candy in 1995, which was acquired by Haier in 2019.

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.

The Kirby Company is a manufacturer of vacuum cleaners, home cleaning products and accessories, located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is a division of Right Lane Industries. Dealers, sales reps, service centers, and distributors are located in over 50 countries. Kirby Vacuums are sold via door-to-door or though arranged-scheduled in-home demonstrations via their website and the company is a member of the Direct Selling Association, the Kirby website can also take vacuum cleaner orders and ship directly to the customer as well, without having to arrange for a scheduled an in-home demonstration. All Kirby Vacuum Cleaners are built in both Edgewater, Cleveland, Ohio and Andrews, Texas, United States

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electrolux Trilobite</span> First commercially available robotic vacuum cleaner

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleaner</span> A cleaning person.

A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who does the cleaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Cecil Booth</span> English engineer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central vacuum cleaner</span> Type of vacuum cleaner appliance

A central vacuum cleaner is a type of vacuum cleaner appliance installed into a building as a semi-permanent fixture. Central vacuum systems are designed to remove dirt and debris from homes and buildings by sending dirt particles through piping installed inside the walls to a collection container in a remote utility space. The power unit is a permanent fixture, usually installed in a basement, garage, or storage room, along with the collection container. Inlets are installed in walls throughout the building that attach to power hoses and other central vacuum accessories to remove dust, particles, and small debris from interior rooms. Most power hoses have a power switch located on the handle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robotic vacuum cleaner</span> Autonomous vacuum floor cleaning system

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floor scrubber</span>

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.

References

  1. http://www.nanowerk.com/nanotechnology/reports/reportpdf/report162.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-05-06. Retrieved 2016-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. nurun.com (2013-09-16). "Bright and shiny | The London Free Press". Lfpress.com. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  6. "Self-cleaning floor grating wins award". Cleanroomtechnology.com. 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2017-04-21.
  7. "Electrolux Design Lab: Top 100 become Top 50". The Design Sheppard. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2017-04-21.