CLEANING EQUIPMENTS

CLEANING  EQUIPMENTS

 These  are  manual  or  mechanical  devices  which  help  in  the  cleaning  process.

Selection  Criteria  for  cleaning  equipments:

Efficient  cleaning  and  maintenance  and  maximum  work  productivity  are  dependent  on  high  quality  cleaning  equipments  and selecting  the  ideal  equipments  plays  major  role  in  the  cleaning  process.
 The  selection  criteria  for  equipments  are:

• Safety  in  operation 
• Suitability  to  type  of  area,  surface,  work,  amount  of  obstruction  and  cleaning  frequency.
•  Versatility  to  do  various  types  of  cleaning. 
• Work  performance  in  terms  of  capacity  of  machine.
•  Ease  of  handling  in  terms  of  size,  weight,  height  of  machine  and  ease  of  operation. 
• Portability  in  terms  of  ease  of  transfer  between  floors  and  provision  of  wheels  and  detachable  parts.
•  Durability  of  the  equipment,  sturdiness,  life  of  the  equipment  etc.
•  Noise  level  of  the  equipment Availability  of  spare  parts,  easy  servicing  conditions. 
• Protective  design  of  the  equipment  without  sharp  edges. 
• Easy  to  store  in  terms  of  dismantling  parts  and  storage  space  required. 
• Cost  as  initial  costs,  operating  costs,  maintenance.

 MANUAL EQUIPMENTS:

Equipments  which  help  in  the  cleaning  process  by  directly  using  manual  energy  of  the  employees.
 The  common  manual  equipments  are  :
1)  Brooms    2)Brushes    3)Mops      4)Cloths    5)Containers    6)  Box  Sweepers

1)BROOMS:Brooms  consist  of  long  bristles  gathered  together  and  inserted  into  a  handle.  Bristles  may  be  made  of  grass,  corn,  coconut  fibers etc.
 Types  of  brooms:-
-Soft  Bristled  brooms-  Brooms  made  of  corn  fiber,  grass  brooms,  and  used  on  smooth  floors.
-Hard  bristled  Brooms-  Coconut  fiber  brooms  or  yard  brooms  are  used  on  rough  surfaces  especially  outdoors.
-Wall  brooms/  Tall  Turks-  These  are  used  to  remove  cobwebs  from  ceilings.  They  have  a  soft  head  and  a  long  handle.

2)BRUSHES: These  are  designed  to  remove  dust  and  dirt  from  surfaces.
Parts  of  brush:
a. Stock  in  which  bristles  are  inserted  made  of  wood,  metal  or  plastic.
b. Bristles  made  of  horse  hair,  nylon,  jute  or  coir  have  chisel  like  action  which  dislodges  the  soil
c. Handle  may  also  be  made  of  wood  or  plastic  and  can  be  detachable  or  non  detachable.

Types  of  Brushes:-
-Hard  Brush-  Stiff  bristles  and  well  spaced  out.  Removes  heavy  soil  from  rough  surfaces.
-Soft  brush-  Softer  bristles  and  set  close  together.  Removes  loose  soil  from  smooth  surfaces  like  carpets,  furniture  etc.
-Scrubbing  Brushes-  These  have  short,  hard  bristles  designed  for  cleaning  stains  and  heavy  soil.  Also  known  as  T  brushes.

 Other  brushes  are  Toilet  Brushes/Johnny  Mops,  Bottle  Brushes,  Cloth  scrubbing  Brush,  Carpet  brushes,  Feather  Brush  etc.

3)MOPS: Types  of  mops  are  dry  mops  and  wet  mops.
#Dry  mops:Also  called  dust  control  mops.  These  are  used  to  remove  dust  from  floors,  wall,  ceiling.  Mops  have  handle,  to  which  a  metal  frame is  attached.  The  mop  head  made  of  dense  cotton  fringes  are  inserted  into  the  frame  and  stretched  over  it.
#Wet/damp  mops:These  mops  are  used  along  with  buckets  to  remove  dirt  from  the  floor  surfaces.  The  mop  consists  of  a  handle  and  cotton  fringes or  sponge  which  are  capable  of  absorbing  water. Types  of  damp  mop
a)Do-all-mops-  Consists  strands  of  twisted  cotton  fixed  to  a  circular  metal  plate  which  is  fixed  to  a  stock.
 b)Kentucky mop- Cotton  strands  fixed  to  a  length  of  cotton  fabrics  which  is  inserted  into  a  metal  stock.
c)Foss  mopDense  cotton  fringes  inserted  into  a  metal  stock
d)Squeeze- Consists  of  a  rubber  blade  attached  to  a  metal  handle  to  remove  excess  water  from  the  floor.
e)Sponge  mops-  Consists  of  sponge  fixed  to  a  replaceable  lever  controlled  head,  hinged  for  removing  the  water  and  attached  to  a long  handle.

4)CLOTHS: Various  cloths  are  used  in  dry  and  wet  cleaning.  For  efficient  usage  cloth  can  be  color  coded  and  used  by  staff  for  different usages.

Types  of  cloths
a)Dusters/  cloths-  Soft  absorbent  plain  or  checked  cotton  material  or  yellow  flannelette  used  for  dusting  and  buffing.
b)Swabs  and  Wipes-  These  are  made  of  loosely  woven  cotton  cloths  which  are  soft,  absorbent  material  used  for  wet  cleaning  of surface  above  floor  level.  Mainly  used  for  cleaning  bathtubs  and  washbasins.
c)Floor  cloths  –  These  are  coarse  knitted  cotton  cloths  which  are  bigger,  thicker  and  used  to  clean  floors.
d)  Glass  Cloths/  Scrim-  These  are  lint  free  loosely  woven    linen  material  and  is  used  for  cleaning  glass  and  mirrors. 
e)Cotton  Rags  or  cloths-Disposable  cotton  or  cloths  used  for  applying  polishes  and  cleaning  agents.
f)Chamois  leather-  Obtained  from  chamois  goat  and  used  for  cleaning  windows  and  mirror,  polishing  silver.
g)Dust  sheets-  Made  of  thin  cotton  material  which  are  discarded  from  linen  room  like  bedsheets  or  curtains  used  to  cover  floor  , furniture  during  renovation  work.
h)Drug  gets-  Linen,  canvas  or  plastic  material  placed  on  the  floor  in  doorways  to  absorb  excessive  dirt  caused  during  bad  weather or  renovation  work.
i)Bucket  cloths/Splash  mats-Thick  fabric  placed  under  buckets  to  prevent  water  marks  formation  on  surfaces.

5)CONTAINERS: The  staff  require  containers  to  carry,  transport,  and  store  items  of  use  and  collect  waste  products.

Types  of  containers
a)Buckets-  Made  of  plastic  or  galvanized  iron.  Used  to  collect  water  and  used  with  mops  for  cleaning.
b)Dustpans-  Used  along  with  brushes  to  collect  dust  and  made  of  plastic  or  metal.  The  edge  in  contact  with  floor  must  be  thin  and sharp.
c)Dustbins-  Made  of  plastics,  wood,  metals,  leather  ,  jute  and  placed  in  rooms,  public  areas  and  all  back  areas  and  lined  with plastic  bags.
d)  Sani-bins-Metal  or  plastic  bins  with  lids.
e)Spray  bottles-  Lightweight  containers  which  deliver  a  fine  mist  of  water  or  cleaning  solution  on  the  surface  to  be  cleaned.
f)  Hand  caddies-  Made  of  metal,  wood  or  plastic  consists  of  a  tray  with  slots  for  storing  chemical  bottles  and  a  handle  to  carry  it.
g)  Carts  and  trolleys
  i)Chambermaids  trolley/Room  Attendants  cart/  Maids  Trolley-  Used  to  carry  linen,  cleaning  agents,  supplies,  cleaning equipments  required  for  guestroom  cleaning  and  stored  in  the  guest  corridors  and  should  be  movable  and  strong.
  ii)Janitorial  trolley-  Used  for  cleaning  and  storing  cleaning  supplies  for  public  area  cleaning.
  iii)Mop  wringer  trolley-  This  piece  of  equipment  consists  of  mop  and  buckets  to  carry  cleaning  solution  and  clean  water  mainly used  for  public  areas.
  iv)  Linen  trolley-  Used  for  transfer  of  linen  from  guestrooms  to  laundry  for  washing  and  are  made  of  cloth  or  metal  with  castor wheels.

6)BOXSWEEPER:- These  are  manually  operated  carpet  sweepers  used  for  removing  crumbs  from  the  surfaces.  It  consists  of  a  brush  that  revolves when  equipment  is  pushed  over  the  carpet  and  crumbs  get  collected  in  the  dust-collector  pan  which  are  emptied  when  filled.

MECHANICAL  EUIPMEMT

The  equipments  which  work  by  motors  powered  by  electricity.

 Different  mechanical  equipments  are:
(I)VACUUM  CLEANERS/SUCTION  CLEANERS-  Dust  and  crumbs  are  removed  from  surface  by  suction.
 Vacuum  cleaners  can  be  classified  on  the  basis  of:

• Shape  of  the  machine-  Cylindrical,  upright,  backpack,  dustette 
• Function-  Dry  pick  up,  wet  pick  up,  dry  and  wet  pick  up,  pile  lifter 
• Centralized  vacuuming  system 

DIFFERENT  VACUUM  CLEANERS:
a)CYLINDRICAL  VACUUM  CLEANER(DRY  PICK  UP):These machines work by suction. Electricity makes the motor work and dust is collected by high suction created by the motor and sucked in through the hose and collected in the dust bag inside the machine. Various attachments are used like floor cleaning head, crevice cleaning head, upholstery cleaning head etc for cleaning different areas. Most commonly used vacuum cleaners used  for  guest  rooms.
b)UPRIGHT  VACUUM  CLEANER(  DRY  PICK  UP) The main body of the machine lies horizontally on the surface and does not have attachments but has built in hose for cleaning corners  and  upholstery.  Mainly  used  for  large  carpeted  areas
c)BACK  PAC  VACUUM  CLEANER/PIGGYBACK  VACUUMS/PAPOOSE(DRY  PICK  UP):Small  lightweight  vacuum  cleaners  which  can  be  strapped  at  the  back  and  used  to  clean  upholstery,  curtains
d)DUSTTETTES(DRY  PICK  UP)  :Small lightweight battery operated vacuum cleaners used to vacuum clean upholstery, carpet edges, mattresses, curtain and stair cases  etc.  Can  be  carried  in  hand.
e)WET  PICK  UP  VACUUM CLEANER :Picks up wet waste, excess waste water and used to pick up water from floor after scrubbing. This can also be used to remove excess moisture after shampooing the carpet. The machine has a squeeze head which is used to remove excess water and collected  in  a  tank  which  is  emptied  after  use.
f)LARGE  TANK  TYPE  VACUUM  CLEANER(  DRY  AND WET PICK UP) Also called canister type vacuum cleaners or industrial vacuum cleaners and are used for dry and wet pick up both. Used for cleaning  large  areas  like  lobbies,  banquet  halls  etc.
g)PILE  LIFTER It’s a vacuum cleaner with two motors to make it extremely strong on action. The pile of the carpet usually flattens in use. Pile lifter grooms  the  pile  of  the  carpet  and  restore  their  vertical  orientation.  It  is  not  used  daily.  Mainly  used  before  shampooing  the  carpet.
h)CENTRALIZED  VACUUMING Centralized vacuum cleaning system suction is generated at one point in a building. Soil is removed by suitable nozzles linked by flexible stretchable hoses to vacuum point. It is then conveyed by a network of pipes to a central container. This system is expensive  to  install  and  is  generally  done  at  the  construction  stage

CARE  AND STORAGE OF VACUUM CLEANERS:
i)Wheels  should  be  oiled  regularly
ii)After  use  dust  bags  or  tanks  should  be  emptied  and  cleaned.
iii)Clean  attachment  heads  after  cleaning  work  is  done.
iv)If  machine  is  dry  pick  up  never  try  to  pick  wet  waste.
v)Attachments  should  be  stored  in  proper  boxes.

(II)FLOOR  MAINTENANCE  MACHINE This is a multi functional machine which can scrub, polish and buff the floors. The machines have driving discs (single disc or three small discs rotates on opposite directions) colored nylon pads, water tank, shampoo tank, sprayer which are used for different  functions.  Lighter  the  color  of  the  pads  lesser  strong  it  is. For scrubbing and stripping: Scrubbing is done with scrubbing brush or with scrubbing pad(black) attached to the disc which cut the  soil. For  polishing:  Red  colored  pads  to  apply  polish  on  the  floor For  buffing:  beige  or  white  pads  are  used  to  create  high  gloss  finish.
(III)WET  EXTRACTION  MACHINES:Wet extraction machine are used to restore the surface appearance of carpet, upholstery and curtains. They remove deeply embedded  soil  not  removed  by  suction  cleaning. Types  of  wet  Extraction  systems:
a)Hot water extraction machine-They carry a hot water tank and detergent used for deep cleaning carpet with high pressure spray nozzles  and  a  suction  unit  to  remove  soiled  solution  from  the  surface.
b)Solvent  extraction  machines-  Used  for  cleaning  upholstery  and  curtains.
(IV)SHAMPOOING  MACHINES:Brushes are made of nylon as it needs to be strong to get through the carpet pile. They are fixed to the discs of the floor maintenance machine. There are special pressure tank alongwith a foam generator which produces the foam in dry form which cleans  the  carpet  and  suspends  the  soil.  This  way  carpet  does  not  get  too  wet.
(V)POWER  SWEEPER:These are self or manually operated machines designed to remove debris and loose soil from floor, pavement, car park, and large areas.
 (VI)SCARIFYING MACHINES :Scarifying is a process of removing heavy grease, mud, thick deposits of dirt from floor by chisel like  action  with  a  wire  brush  cutting  tool.

 STORAGE AND CARE OF CLEANING EQUIPMENT:
I)Equipments  should  be  stored  in  areas  which  are  locked  properly.
II)Proper records of issuing equipments should be maintained(Area, attachments given, time issued, whom issued to, time of return)
III)Attachments  and  parts  should  be  cleaned  properly  and  stored  after  use.
IV)  Brushes  should  never  be  faced  downwards  in  the  floor  as  it  would  damage  the  bristles.