EQUIPMENT AND CLEANING AGENTS

Blog by Divya Thakur

All > Hotel Management > EQUIPMENT AND CLEANING AGENTS

7 likes

Please login to like this article.

EQUIPMENT AND CLEANING AGENTS

CLEANING EQUIPMENT

The housekeeping staff needs to clean various guest rooms, guest bathrooms, and a number of

public areas in the hotel. The staff needs to take the help of various cleaning equipment while

trying to keep the hotel premises to the highest standard of appearance.

Advantages of Cleaning Equipment

The cleaning equipment is advantageous in multiple ways −

1. Equally effective for general as well as tougher cleaning tasks.

2. High cleaning capability.

3. Reduce work fatigue and increase productivity.

4. Save the time of hotel housekeeping staff.

5. High maneuverability. They can reach any corner or height of the room, which is otherwise difficult to reach.

6. Eco-friendly, widely available, and easy to operate.

7. They give protection from injuries occurring while cleaning when they are handled by using proper instructions.

Classification of Cleaning Equipment

There are broadly categorized as follows −

A. Manual Cleaning Equipment: As the name suggests, they are used manually to keep the

surfaces clean. Some commonly used manual equipments are −

1. Brushes- These may be designed to remove dry or wet or ingrained dust and dirt from the

hard or soft surfaces. Three main types of brushes are used in the cleaning surface. They are

as follows:

2. Hard Brush- Hard brushes have bristles that are fairly stiff and well spread out cleaning

equipment. They are most suitable for the removal of heavy soil and litters from the

carpets and for cleaning of rough surface.

3. Soft brush- Soft brushes may have bristles that are fairly flexible and set close together.

These are used for removal of loose soil and litter on hard smooth surfaces.

4. Scrubbing brushes- Scrubbing brushes have short, coarse bristles designed for use on

surface that have become stained and heavily ingrained with dirt. These brushes should

only be used to remove stubborn heavy soiling small areas that are difficult for

scrubbing machines to access. Cleaning equipment like Brushes are also classified on the

basis of their functions:

a) Toilet brush ? Used for cleaning of W.C.

b) Bottle brush ? These are used for overflow vents in wash basin and tubs.

c) Flue Brush ? These are used for cleaning chimney.

d) Feather brushes ? These are used for light dusting.

Care and cleaning of brushes- Brushes should be generally tapped on the hard surface to loosen

the dirt and debris after the cleaning process. Frequent washing with water is avoidable.

Brushes should be washed in warm and soapy water.

2. Brooms- Sweeping brooms consist of long bristles gathered together into handles. The

bristles of the brooms are made of grass, corn or coconut fiber. Depending on the type

brooms are used for removal of dirt and dust in the large areas. Brooms are classified into

three main categories.

Soft bristled brooms- These types of brooms are made of corn fiber or grass. This is used

for smooth floor.

Hard / coarse- bristled brooms- These types of brooms are used for hard surface

especially outdoor rough areas.

Wall broom- These are also called ceiling brooms. They have a soft head or long handle

made up of canes. These brooms are used for removal of cob webs.

Care and cleaning of the brooms

? Brooms should be shaken free, of dust and fluff. Never store them standing on their

bristle or the bristle will bend out of the shape.

? Soft brooms should not be use in wet surface.

3. Wet /damp mop- These mops are used in conjunction with buckets for the removal of dirt

adhering to a surface. The mop heads can be made of cotton, sponge or any other fiber

capable of absorbing moisture well. Wet mops can be classified into four types. They are as

follows

Do-all mops- These mops consists of stand of twisted cotton, fixed to a circular metal

plate, which is in turn is fixed to a stock.

Kentucky mops- These mops consists of cotton stand fixed to a length of cotton fabric,

which is in turn instead into flat metal stock. They are available in weights ranging from

330 g to 670 g.

Sponge mop- These consist of a cellulose sponge fixed to a replaceable lever controlled

head, hinged for wringing out, and attached to a long handle. Using a sponge mop is one of

the easiest ways to wash the hard floor.

Squeegee ? A squeegee consists of a long metallic handle and a wooden or rubber blade to

remove excess water from the surface being cleaned. It is effective when followed by

a damp mop.

Care and cleanings of the mops and cleaning equipment

Take mops outdoors after use and shake well to remove excess moisture. Then these mops can

be washed. Detachable heads are easier to clean and maintain. However, drying is the most

important part of this mop because if the mop has not been dried properly it will be easily

affected by bacteria.

4. Dry mops-Dry mops are also called dust control mops, these cleaning equipment's are

designed to remove the soil and debris from the floors walls and ceilings without raising.

These mops generally consist of a handle to which a metal frame is attached

Care and cleaning of these mops-

Shake mops well after use in the outdoors. The mop heads should be easily detachable, so that

it can be washed in hot water with detergent.

5. Clothes-Various types of clothes are used by the housekeeping staff as dusters. For efficient

and correct uses different colors of duster are used. Dusters can be divided into many types

according to their uses. Those are as follows-

? Mitts- They are used for dusting and buffing. Soft absorbent plain or checked cotton

material or yellow flannelette of up to 15 sq. cm is ideal for dusters.

? Swabs and wipes- These are all-purpose clothes made of soft absorbent materials. They are

used for wet cleaning and a damp dusting of the entire surface above floor level. They are also used for cleaning sanitary fittings such as bathtubs and washbasins.

? Floor cloth- Floorcloths are bigger, thicker, and made from coarser cotton material than all-

purpose swabs.

? Scrim-This is loosely woven linen materials cleaning equipment used for cleaning mirrors

and windows.

? Glass cloths- Glass clothes are made of linen tow yarns and do not leave behind lint. They

are used for wiping mirrors and drinking glass.

? Rags and polishing clothes- Rags are disposable clothes usually obtained from the swing

room or brought by the sack by a tailor. They are used for applying a polish or strong cleaning

agent and are disposed of when dirty.

? Chamois leather- Real chamois leather is the skin of chamois goat and antelope, but now

various cheaper imitations are available. Chamois leather can be used for cleaning of

windows, mirror when dry, it is used for polishing cloth for silver and other metals.

? Dust sheet- Dust sheets are made of thin cotton material. The size is the single bed sheet

size. Discarded bed sheet and curtains from the linen room is ideal dust sheet. They are

used for covering floor furniture during spring cleaning.

? Druggists ? They are made of coarse linen, fine canvas, or clear plastic. They may be the size

of a carpet square or runner. They are placed on the floor in the doorway to prevent

excessive dirt from being trekked in or out during bad weather and during the redecoration

process.

6. CONTAINERS- Work becomes much easier and efficient if the staff is given suitable

containers to carry transport and to carry store supply and other items. The various types of

containers used by the housekeeping staffs are as follows:

? Buckets- These maybe made from plastic or galvanized iron. Plastic buckets are more

popular now a day as they are lighter in weight easy to clean.

? Basin and bowls- They are used to carry small amount of water, cleaning solution and

powder for cleaning small areas.

? Dust pan- These are used in conjunction with brooms or brush for gathering dust. They may

be made of plastic or metal.

? Sani bins- They are metal or plastic bins with lit. They are kept in the toilet for disposing of

used toilet roll and sanitary towels. They should be lined with paper or plastic bag.

? Dustbins −They are used to collect daily garbage produced in the hotel.

? Spray bottles- They are light weight containers that delivers a fine mist of water or cleaning

solution through a fine nozzle specially during the spray cleaning.

? Hand caddies- Also called cleaners box. These are originally made of wood or metal. But

now a day are made of plastic. They consist of a box with handle and a fitted tray. They are

used by the room attendant for carrying cleaning supplies.

? Chambermaid's Trolley/Housekeeping Trolley −This trolley is large enough to keep all the

guest room and guest bathroom supplies in an organized manner. It makes the

housekeeping staff to move it around and carry large number of items in one go while

keeping and cleaning the guest rooms.

? Janitor's trolley − It is a trolley that stores cleaning supplies such as detergents, spray

bottles, dustbin, mop, and dusting cloths, all in a compact manner. It can be moved around

easily. It fulfills the challenge of modern day housekeeping in hotels.

? Mop Wringer trolley − A mop bucket cart (or mop trolley) is a wheeled bucket that allows its user to wring out a wet mop without getting the hands dirty. The mops are squeezed between two surfaces to remove dirty water from it.