Words: John Taylor
There aren’t many cleaning tasks that don’t involve water. Ok, dusting, vacuuming and sweeping don’t need water, but as soon as the word ‘wash’ is used, water becomes the main player. Every cleaning task draws its strength from water and how it is released and directed in motion. From a mop bucket to a scrubber, a pressure washer to a carpet machine, through to window cleaning and even washing dishes, the effectiveness begins with water and the way it moves through the process.
So, what’s new? At the recent ISSA Cleaning & Hygiene Expo, the DRYFT was a joint winner in the equipment category. The DRYFT introduces a fresh approach to small-space cleaning. It is a highly portable floor scrubber built with a distinctive S-shaped handle and an oscillating cleaning head, giving the operator control and precision in tight areas. It is made for the places where a mop would ordinarily be used, yet it eliminates the problem of cross contamination that comes from dipping a dirty mop into a clean bucket. With its targeted system, water use stays minimal while the clean remains consistent. There is no need to change the water after every room, as is required in healthcare cleaning.
Modern compact floor scrubbers are also overcoming the frustration that comes with cleaning high-traction flooring. Surfaces carrying a high ‘R rating’, measured by how much grip they maintain under oily and wet conditions, defeat traditional string or microfibre mops, which tend to drag and smear rather than lift and remove. These harder-working floor types demand mechanical intervention, and compact scrubbers are stepping into that role.
In larger floor (or auto) scrubbers, recycling the wastewater is not unique. The water is picked up by the squeegee and deposited into a recovery tank. It is then filtered and reused, a great option in mildly dirty areas such as pick and pack warehouses. There are also machines that dispense the optimum amount of water to match the speed at which the machine is travelling. Further, robotic auto scrubbers have the ability to stop water flow altogether should the machine come to a halt.
What about chemicals in auto scrubbers?
Contemporary scrubber models carry clean water in one tank and concentrated chemicals in another. When the floor demands more, the machine meters chemicals directly into the solution rather than diluting the entire tank. That means the main tank stays filled with clean water and chemical use responds to actual soil levels, leaving no need to discard unused diluted solution at the end of each shift.
Window cleaning with purified water
Regarded as one of the best chemicals to clean windows, purified water begins as ordinary tap water, often from sandstone, mineral-rich or coastal areas, then passes through a filtration tank filled with charged beads. These beads capture and hold impurities and are replaced when a purity meter signals the operator. As the water takes on a mild positive charge, it draws in negative dirt particles, enhancing its cleaning force without the need for chemical additives.
A simple water-fed wand with a brush is all that is needed for easily reached windows. More complex façades have traditionally called for squeegees and a bosun’s chair or a mobile gantry, methods that place the cleaner in a vulnerable position. Purpose-built drones have radically changed that landscape. A lightweight hose runs from the filtration tank to the drone, and a skilled operator controls the flow, rinsing the glass from a safe distance. The positively charged purified water lifts and carries away dirt through flyscreens or past shutters if needed, and the runoff remains harmless to plants and wildlife.
Drones are now being used on some of the most difficult cleaning tasks. For extremely inaccessible contexts, drones have an onboard water storage tank and a small pump. The only drawback is that water weight limits capacity, so the tank needs frequent refilling.
Cameras on drones are able to inspect the area being cleaned to determine future maintenance. There are some fascinating stories from a five-star Sydney hotel, where windows once cleaned from a bosun’s chair are now serviced by drones equipped with cameras.
Hot water extraction carpet cleaning
The introduction of steam carpet cleaning, now known as hot water extraction, many decades ago, revolutionised carpet cleaning. The process begins with a pump pushing water deep into the carpet fibres, followed by a vacuum system that extracts the dirt-laden solution. Before steam cleaning became common, carpets were treated with a slow-speed polisher fitted with a cloth pad soaked in cleaning solution, or a machine with soft brushes. Any remaining residue was removed once the carpet had dried, using a dry vacuum.
But blasting water into the carpet and then sucking out the dirty water a second later became the preferred method. Though many ideas for getting chemicals into the carpet have been tested over time, pre-spraying and using the extraction machine via a wand to rinse the dirt from the carpet has been accepted as the most effective method to date.
Variations have ensued. For a quick clean, floor scrubbers with heated pads that keep the carpets as dry as possible are effective. For a more thorough clean, recycling machines that reuse water perform best, complemented by self-contained extraction machines with cylindrical brushes that gently scrub the carpet before removing the dirty water.
High-pressure washing
Water blasters, or pressure washers, are rudimentary machines: a pump forces water into a nozzle that blasts the water onto a surface. The pumping systems range from the simple exhaust of a vacuum motor to massive pumps mounted on trucks. The trickiest part of pressure washing is understanding the pressure measurements – PSI, BAR or MPa. For reference, one MPa equals 145 PSI, and one BAR equals 14.5 PSI.
This makes it difficult to compare machines, but one thing is common: straight pressure is not as important as the amount of water pumped, referred to as litres per minute (LPM). For many years, electric, petrol and diesel-powered pumps were the only options, but battery pumps are now becoming more popular. Battery units do not have limitations for noise, fumes or power outlets, but they do have limitations for the pressure and water volume and working time.
Ecologically, pressure washing is one of the most efficient cleaning actions. In some situations, the force of the water hitting the surface being cleaned is sufficient without the need for chemicals. For example, ‘soft’ pressure cleaning with sodium bicarbonate is enough to remove graffiti from delicate or painted surfaces. As a non-pollutant, it can be used safely in sensitive environments.
Water should be considered as our greatest cleaning compound. When applied with the appropriate machines, the cleaning power is unmatched. As machines get smarter, cleaning becomes easier and less labour intensive. This is a win-win situation. Safer for the operator. Safer for the environment. And the result is a cleaner world for us all.
