There are a multitude of traditional and contemporary hand tools available for housekeeping managers and cleaning crews around the country. “That’s great because they enable us to do an effective cleaning job,” says Shawn Smith, hotel services manager at Harrah’s Atlantic City Hotel and Casino in New Jersey.

As technology advances the cleaning industry, cleaning crews can look forward to hand tools that target virtually every cleaning challenge. Housekeeping supervisors at Idaho State University, the Mall of America, Alvernia College and the Samaritan Village Senior Community agree that the industry has advanced, making their job easier to manage.

Thanks in part to constant product innovations, hand tools will remain an important part of any cleaners arsenal. Housekeeping managers will notice a push towards more flat mop systems with dual buckets, sponges with varying degrees of abrasiveness, light weight squeegees, clamp-style mop handles, dust pans, and wall and ceiling dusters, for example.

Squeegees
 Manufacturers continue to develop unique squeegees with special handles and synthetic cleaning blades to target specific cleaning needs. One example is a squeegee with a swivel head. Housekeeping managers comment that this tool is ideal when cleaning windows. Advancements such as these make it easier for a cleaner to maneuver the squeegee in tight places, says Anna Ferraro, assistant supervisor of housekeeping at Alvernia College in Reading, Pa.

Sponges & Brushes
 Even though traditional cleaning sponges are widely used, various innovative products have made their way into the marketplace. Daminga Lash, housekeeping manager at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., uses one of the more popular sponges introduced within the last couple years. It features a scouring pad on one side and a sponge affixed to the other side. This allows for soft wiping of a surface and yet provides a tool to successfully do away with difficult-to-remove dirt.

Upgraded designs in cleaning pads are also popular with today’s housekeeping manager. These can be attached to a holder or brush head that is affixed to a handle, which enables the operator to easily clean surfaces.

For more abrasive cleaning, manufacturers have developed scrubbing brushes that are made of natural or synthetic materials and are lightweight and flexible. Some are soft and others are abrasive for deep cleaning in warehouse and manufacturing facilities.

Dusters
 These days, some dusters have lightweight telescopic extension poles, and some have heads able to reach difficult or otherwise inaccessible areas. Advancements such as these have been made to meet ergonomic requirements, but also to improve safety and effectiveness for the cleaners using these tools.

Also available are ostrich feather dusters, non-allergenic polyester dusters, and synthetic dusters treated with a static charge to attract dust and dirt. Lambs’ wool has also become popular on dusting wands. Even more recent advancements include dusting mitts as well as cleaning sleeves or sheets that can be attached to flat mop heads for dusting floors, ceilings, walls and counters.

Floor Care
Housekeeping managers around the country can choose from a variety of mops — wet, dry, string, flat, microfiber, etc. Flat mops are now constructed of synthetic blends of fibers that work more efficiently than previous models. Many housekeeping departments are using flat mops that incorporate special cleaning cloths for basic mopping, dusting and even disinfecting floors.

“You can also find pivoting mop bases with power squeegees; telescopic mop handles; pumice stones, and microfiber cleaning cloths,” says Smith.

Due to its versatility, ease-of-use, and effectiveness, “microfiber has been gaining in popularity and acceptance in recent years,” observes David Allendorf, housekeeping supervisor at Samaritan Village Senior Community in Hughson, Cal. Some cloths used on the flat mops, and cleaning cloths in general, are manufactured from microfiber, making cleaning more efficient.

Because it’s a strong, lint-free synthetic material with tiny absorbent fibers, microfiber allows a mop to hold sufficient water without dripping. The microfibers have a positive charge that attract dust and dirt and holds them tightly without redistributing them around the area being mopped or cleaned.

Cleaners can also benefit from the ergonomic features of the flat mop, such as, newly designed mop heads, and handles and buckets that are lighter weight and easier to use than earlier models. With microfiber, there is less risk of injury because microfiber mopping uses less water and disinfectants, resulting in less weight to lift and less potential for fatigue, back pain, neck strain and upper body injuries. Because these mops are lightweight and maneuverable, cleaners can largely avoid uncomfortable or awkward positions.

The daily tasks of cleaning large industrial, educational or commercial facilities are daunting and usually performed using advanced floor machines, but industry experts agree that today’s hand tools are both necessary and capable of completing the job successfully.

“Floor machines are being used a lot today, but there’s still a major role for the hand tool,” says Harrah’s Smith. “Many day-to-day jobs can be accomplished with simple hand tools that reach into tight places where floor machines don’t fit. We consider hand tools to be very important in doing an effective cleaning job. In fact, using the right tool is just as important as using the right cleaning chemicals.”

Choosing the right tool for the job
According to Smith, choosing the proper cleaning tool is key. “You can have the right cleaning solution, but if you don’t use the right tool to apply it, you’re not accomplishing anything.”

What are the right tools for the job? Smith says they’re innovative hand tools that increase productivity.

To clean Harrah’s, a major complex in Atlantic City, Smith’s crews utilize floor machines and hand tools such as grout and conventional brushes, brooms, pumice stones, sponges and mops.

“We use synthetic blends and cotton mops that are looped to prevent fraying,” he comments. “We use pumice stones around urinals and toilets to scrape off rust and difficult-to-remove stains.”

Lash uses similar products and procedures in Minnesota. Because of the size and scope of the Mall of America — more than 400 stores that attract thousands of shoppers on a daily basis and employs about 12,000 workers — riding floor machines are used regularly to clean the huge facility, according to Lash. “But we still need hand tools to get into smaller spaces and for important detail work. We use mops for cleaning public restrooms, break rooms, and other smaller areas in the mall, such as under benches.”

Located near the Twin Cities, the cleaning crew at the Mall of America uses squeegees sparingly, but they do use them when cleaning restrooms on the third shift. “At that time, everything is sprayed down, from ceiling to floor, and then we squeegee the water down the floor drains,” says Lash.

At Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho, mops are considered one of the most important tools in maintaining the floors throughout the university.

“We use different kinds,” says Ray Skeem, custodial lead worker. “Most commonly, we use old fashioned yarn or string mops with looped ends. We like them because they can be washed and used over and over again. They hold together better than the traditional ones with strings that fray out at the ends.”

Skeem has also used some flat mop systems at the university. “Our flat mop system has a clean water tank with cleaning chemicals and a dirty water tank to rinse the mop out. This prevents you from just spreading dirt,” he says. “They’re fairly effective in getting the dirt off the floors, as well as getting into cracks.”

At Samaritan Village Senior Community, Allendorf, a 30-year cleaning industry veteran, watches as hand tools improve over time.

“We initially used mops that would leave particles behind. That doesn’t happen with microfiber. Our housekeeping team started switching to microfiber mops last August. We like them. We can use a different microfiber head in every room because they are easy to change out. As a result, they’ll help us keep the spread of disease down.”

Alvernia College, however, has no plans at the moment for changing over to microfiber mops. “We will give them serious thought in the future, however. We have tried them in one building,” says Ferraro, “but we currently use basic mops in our dorms for both dust and wet mopping.”

Lash believes that microfiber mops are the wave of the future. “They work more efficiently. They hold up better.” He admits, though, that traditional string mops still have their place in the industry. “We do use old fashioned dry and wet mops for applying wax,” he adds.

Skeem is also sold on microfiber mops and towels. “They’re amazingly effective when cleaning walls and desk tops. You need very little chemical to get the job done. They pick up dirt easier and faster then conventional products. They speed up cleaning time because they are so efficient. And the mops get into textured surfaces more easily.”

Educating employees
Housekeeping managers must properly train their employees in the use of all cleaning tools if they want to maximize efficiency and performance, according to Skeem.

“When we started using flat mop systems, we saw that a learning curve was needed. It took effort to learn how to use them efficiently,” he says. “The training, however, enhanced the cleaning job our people did. But the problem with flat mop systems is that we have found them to be more expensive, therefore we can’t use them on a large scale.”

Allendorf adds, “We had to educate ourselves about microfiber use. But once we learned, it didn’t take long to reap the benefits.”

Future of hand tools
 Regardless of the advances being made in machine technology, housekeeping managers will always have a need for hand tools.

“There will always be an important place for hand tools because their usefulness has been proven,” says Smith.

Lash believes the hand tools of the future will continue to be efficient.

“If a new product hits the market, we’ll definitely try it. We’re open to changing our methods to optimize our cleaning efficiency.”

Ferraro adds, “Manufacturers always seem to be looking to improve their hand tool products, especially in the areas of performance and ergonomics. And they are inexpensive cleaning tools. That’s a plus.”

Jordan Fox is a freelance writer based in Milwaukee, Wis.




POSTED ON: 11/1/2006