A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum, is a device that uses suction, and often agitation, in order to remove dirt and other debris from carpets and hard floors.
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.
A media filter is a type of filter that uses a bed of sand, peat, shredded tires, foam, crushed glass, geo-textile fabric, anthracite, crushed granite or other material to filter water for drinking, swimming pools, aquaculture, irrigation, stormwater management, oil and gas operations, and other applications.
Sweep or swept may refer to:
A dustpan, the small version of which is also known as a "hearth brush and shovel”, is a cleaning utensil. The dustpan is commonly used in combination with a broom or long brush. The small dustpan may appear to be a type of flat scoop. Though often hand-held for home use, industrial and commercial enterprises use a hinged variety on the end of a stick to allow the user to stand instead of stoop while using it.
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.
Bioswales are channels designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution. Bioswales can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater.
A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets diluted, resulting in higher flowrates at the treatment site. Uncontaminated stormwater simply dilutes sewage, but runoff may dissolve or suspend virtually anything it contacts on roofs, streets, and storage yards. As rainfall travels over roofs and the ground, it may pick up various contaminants including soil particles and other sediment, heavy metals, organic compounds, animal waste, and oil and grease. Combined sewers may also receive dry weather drainage from landscape irrigation, construction dewatering, and washing buildings and sidewalks.
A carpet sweeper is a mechanical device for the cleaning of carpets. They were popular before the introduction of the vacuum cleaner and have been largely superseded by them. However, they continue to be used in many home and commercial applications because they are lightweight and quiet, enabling users to quickly clean small messes up from the floor without disturbing patrons, patients, babies and pets, and because they do not require electricity to operate.
Carpet cleaning is performed to remove stains, dirt, debris, and allergens from carpets. Common methods include hot water extraction, dry-cleaning, and vacuuming.
An automated pool cleaner is a vacuum cleaner that is designed to collect debris and sediment from swimming pools with minimal human intervention.
An oil skimmer is a device that is designed to remove oil floating on a liquid surface. They are commonly used to recover oil from oil spills in water, or in Industrial situations where waters are contaminated with oil. Oil skimmers are designed to remove free floating oil and are not water treatment devices.
A cleaner, cleanser, cleaner or cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor, also known as a custodian, porter or caretaker, is a person who cleans and might also carry out maintenance and security duties. A similar position, but usually with more managerial duties and not including cleaning, is occupied by building superintendents in the United States and Canada and by site managers in schools in the United Kingdom.
Airfield rubber removal, also known as runway rubber removal, is the use of high pressure water, abrasives, chemicals and other mechanical means to remove the rubber from tires that builds up on airport runways. In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) specifies friction levels for safe operation of planes and measures friction coefficients for the evaluation of appropriate friction levels. Individual airports incorporate rubber removal into their maintenance schedules based on the number of takeoffs and landings that each airport experiences.
In civil engineering, a hydrodynamic separator (HDS) is a stormwater management device that uses cyclonic separation to control water pollution. They are designed as flow-through structures with a settling or separation unit to remove sediment and other pollutants. HDS are considered structural best management practices (BMPs), and are used to treat and pre-treat stormwater runoff.
Arthur Elwood Drumm was an American inventor, environmentalist, military subcontractor, and industrialist of the modern street sweeping broom industry, as well as a publisher.
James Murray Spangler was an American inventor, salesman, and janitor who invented the first commercially successful portable electric vacuum cleaner that revolutionized household carpet cleaning. His device was not the first vacuum cleaner, but it was the first that was practical for home use. It was the first to use both a cloth filter bag and cleaning attachments. Spangler improved this basic model and received a patent for it in 1908. He formed the Electric Suction Sweeper Company to manufacture his device. William H. Hoover was so impressed with the vacuum cleaner that he bought into Spangler's business and patents.
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 inside 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.
Bissell Inc., also known as Bissell Homecare, is an American privately owned vacuum cleaner and floor care product manufacturing corporation headquartered in Walker, Michigan in Greater Grand Rapids. The company is the number one manufacturer of floor care products in North America in terms of sales, with 20% marketshare.
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.
