Archive for the ‘Mops’ Category

Dust Mopping 101

The regular use of a dust mop will control dust which saves time and money while promoting a healthy environment. Routine dust removal will eliminate abrasive dust particles that ruin your floor and its finish. Dust mopping will protect your floors, help save you time and drastically reduce your labour cost for stripping and refinishing floors. Dust mops are an important factor to developing a floor care program. Marino offers quality dust mops in various sizes, designed for top performance.

There are several important factors to consider when choosing a dust mop. Use the guidelines below to choose the best dust mop for your floor care needs.

General Dust Mopping

The three main categories of mops are disposable, standard and launderable.  Disposable mops are the most economical and are used and throw away once they fall apart.  They can be slip on style or Velcro based.   Standard mops are generally constructed of cotton and have cut ends for general mopping.  Launderable mops come in many styles and are generally looped and reinforced to withstand multiple washings.  This may reduce the effectiveness of the mop in removing and holding dust from the floor surface.

Mops can be constructed of many different fibers.  The least expensive are constructed of cotton.  Other common materials are cotton blends, synthetics and microfibers.  These materials add cost and benefits to the mops durability and performance.   Mops can come in many different colors.  This can be used to specify mops for certain areas of a facility reducing the risk of cross contamination.

Some dust mops can be laundered.  Cotton cut end mops are generally not launderable. The launderability of a mop is based on the number of commercial washing and drying cycles it can withstand before the construction of the mop is degraded or the performance declines. Synthetic and blended fiber mops have the highest levels of launderability.

The durability of a mop is a measure of how long it will perform before needing to be replaced. Synthetic and blended fiber mops are the most durable.   Looped and twisted mops prevent or reduce snagging and are more durable than cut end mops. Mops with antimicrobial fibers have greater durability because they inhibit the bacterial growth that causes mop odor and discoloration.

Dust pick up is the ability of a mop to remove dust and dirt from the floor surface. Blended fiber, synthetic and microfiber mops have the highest degree of dust pick up. 

Choose mops with high dust pick up and durability. If laundering is available, launderable mops will be the most economical choice. Twisted loop mop heads with reinforced stitching and slip-on/slide-off backing offer the best performance and launderability.  Synthetic fibers can also offer static pick up characteristics that assist in picking up and holding dust particles.  Microfibers are an excellent cost effective choice for dust mopping material.

Mop Construction Features

Twisted and Looped mops are highly effective at capturing dust and dirt. Premium twisted loops are less prone to snags, frays, and unraveling during cleaning and laundering. This construction reduces fraying and de-plying for better durability and longer product life, more effective than cut-end mops.

Cut end mops are economical construction for general purpose dusting.

Backing Styles & Frames

Snap On  and Velcro

Snap-On Wire Dust Mop Frames and Handles make removal of used dust mops easier and cleaning more efficient. The handle has jaws that snap on the middle bar of the frame.  The less popular handle and frame combination is a clip on style where pins on the handle clip into holes on the frame.

Microfiber dust mops and some disposable mops have Velcro backings that utilize a Velcro pad holder.  The disadvantage of this style is the Velcro wears out over time and needs to be replaced on the pad holder.

Slip-on backing decreases setup time and increases product durability. Mops that use half-tie backing are less cost effective that those that use slip-on backing due to damage from torn ties.

Reinforced backing with double-needle stitching at key “wear” points increases product life.

Caring for your Dust Mop

1. At the end of each shift/usage, the dust mops should be shaken out, vacuumed or brushed completely, in order to remove the larger particles from the mop. If treatment is being used, it should be retreated when necessary.
2. If the dust mop is clean, it should be stored upright in a clean dry area, away from the wall and floor.
3. If the dust mop is soiled, it should be laundered. We recommend a laundry net be used. Cotton, Hi-Stat, Ferma-Twist and Hi-Static dust mops should be laundered separately.
4. When laundering use a laundry bag to eliminate snagging in the washer.  You can dry seperately.

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There are a number of different factors to consider when choosing the best wet mop.

1. Type of mopping
2. Style of mop
3. Launderability
4. Absorbency
5. Release
6. Durability
7. Mop Construction

Type of Mopping

Wet mops are used for general mopping or floor finish application.  The best general mops have high absorbency, release and maximum durability.  Finish mops should have high absorbency and release as key characteristics.  Other factors important in a finish mop are tailbands and looped ends for better floor coverage consistency.  If laundering is available is available launderable mops will be the most economical choice.

 Style of Mop

Wet mops come in two basic styles string and flat.  String mops are better for pick up spills and mopping heavily soiled floors.  Flat mops are more effecient in light soil areas or for finish application.   Flat mops are made from lint free microfiber material.  The millions of mircopores remove the smallest contaminants from the floor surface.  Finish flat mops are made of nylon material to maximize release and finish clean up.

Cotton Cut End Mop

Microfiber Flat Mop

Launderability

Launderability is measured by the number washing and drying cycles it can survive before mop failure.  Microfiber mops offer the best launderability followed by synthetic and bleanded mops.

 Absorbency

This is defined as the mops ability to pick up and hold liquids.  Higher absorbency allows for faster floor drying time by minimizing the labor hours required to pick up a spill.  Microfiber, rayon and cotton mops have the highest absorbencies.  Microfiber picks up 8 times its weight in liquid.

 Release

This is the ability of the mop to release liquid during wringing or without.  Mops with high release allow for more effecient wringing and better cleaning solution application to the floor surface.  Rayon and synthetic yarns off the best release of liquids.

 Durability

This is measured by how long the mop will perform before replacement is needed.  Microfiber, synthetic and blended mopps are the most durable options.   Blended mops with antimicrobial treatment have longer lives beacuse they inhibit bacteria growth that can destroy the natural mop fibers in the blend.  For rough surfaces a tube material mop should be used to reduce drag and cutting on sharp edges.  Looped and banded mops are more durable than cut end mops.

 Mop Construction

The key construction features are:

1.  Size
2. Headband
3. Material of construction
4. Tailband
5. End Style

Mops come in varying weights generally ranging from 12oz up to 32oz.  The size of the mop affects the amount of liquids that can be absorbed in one pass.  The strength of the users needs to be considered since a 32oz mop can weigh 8lbs or more when wet. 

Bolt On Headband

Headbands are made from PVC mesh or woven material.  There are two sizes 5″ and 1 or 1.25″.  The larger headbands are used with grip

1″ Headband

per or clamp style mop sticks.  The

greater the stitching on the headband the more durable the mop.  Woven material headbands allow for more thorough drying and are used an

d heavily laundered mops.  The bolt on style is used with a screw in handle.

The main mop materials are cotton, rayon, synthetics, nylon and microfiber.  Blended mops allow for combining the characteristics and

Headband 5″

benefits of two or more material to construct the best mop for the application.

Looped Ends-Tailband

Tailbands bind the lower end of the mop strands to allow for greater and more consistent mop coverage.  It also keeps the strands together with reduces strand snags.  Tailbands can be constructed of sewn on material or yarn stitching.  Yarn stitching is more suitable for finish mops.

The two end styles are cut end and looped.  Cut end mops have open ended yarn strands.  They are not suitable for laundering as the strands will unravel.  Looped ends reduces fraying for better durablility and longer life.

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Why Are We Still Mopping Floors?

Numerous studies, some dating back to the early 1970s, indicate that the traditional mopping of floors is ineffective at best and may even be the source of increased soiling and contamination. The reason is obvious to facility managers and cleaning professionals well versed in floorcare, especially tile and grout flooring. As the mop is used, it gathers grit, soils, and contaminants, many of which are spread over the floor area in the cleaning process instead of being removed.

This can be true whether using conventional string or “spaghetti” mops or flat mops made of microfiber that are being used like spaghetti mops. Additionally, technologies developed to help prevent this spreading of soils from occuring over the floor area, such as dual-bucket systems that separate solution and rinse water, have proved to be relatively ineffective. This is because the mop head becomes soiled as soon as it touches the floor—even sooner if the bucket itself is contaminated.

Microfiber flat mops that are used for a limited square footage based on the soil load on the floor then bagged for cleaning can be an effective mopping technique.  Mops and cleaning solution will not get cross contaminated by being rinsed and wrung out.  A fresh mop is used for a designated area and is not reused until laundered.  This technique may not be cost effective for heavily soiled areas and floors as too many fresh clean mops will be required.

This problem becomes all the more evident when cleaning tile and grout flooring commonly found in restrooms in public facilities as well as locker rooms, shower areas, and foodservice areas. These floors are porous. Time, moisture, contaminants, and soiled mop heads and mop water will eventually discolor the tile and grout, causing staining and odors and fostering the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew.

When this happens, addressing the problem can not only be a time-consuming process but can even risk the health of the cleaning professional as well as the environment. Often the cleaning worker uses hand-held brushes to loosen grit and soil from the tile and grout, manually going over each section, which for a large area is a slow and laborious process.

Also, cleaning workers may turn to powerful acid-type cleaners and degreasers. These products may well remove the grit and soiling, but the fumes they release can be harmful, and skin and eye irritation—a common work-related injury among cleaning professionals—can be serious.

New Technologies Provide a Solution
Many facilities are turning to hard-surface cleaning equipment as an alternative to conventional floor mopping. Typically, this equipment is used to clean tile and grout flooring because it is able to deep clean porous floors and remove and dispose of contaminants down the drain rather than moving them from place to place.

For instance, some carpet extractor-type “dual surface” machines use a turbo, hard-surface floor cleaner attachment that pressure washes hard surfaces while removing waste water with a powerful vacuum system in one cleaning pass. These machines can use up to two gallons of water per minute with an adjustable 400 to 1,200 psi (pounds per square inch). This system allows the operator to adjust the machine’s pressure based on floor type and cleaning needs. Using the system, the operator first pre-sprays the floor with a cleaning chemical to loosen soils, then pressure washes and safely removes waste in one cleaning pass. Because the equipment is connected directly to water-feed outlets, it cleans the floor and then “dumps” solution and contaminants down the drain at the rate of 5.5 gallons per minute, aiding in productivity.

These are other benefits of this type of floor cleaning technology:

• Pre-spraying floors tends to limit the amount of chemical used for cleaning, making the process more environmentally responsible.
• Because this is a “one-pass system,” floors are cleaned and rinsed faster, enhancing worker productivity.
• Floors dry quickly because the moisture is extracted, unblocking floor areas sooner and preventing possible slips and falls.

Other options for automated mopping are the use of automatic scrubbers that put down uncontaminated cleaning solution, scrub with brushes and then vacuum up the dirty solutions.  Automatic scrubbers are 10 times more productive than traditional mopping.  If there is enought square footage in the building to be mopped that labor savings pays for the scrubber usually within one year.   The quality of the cleaning is also enhanced with the use of a scubber.

Answering the Big Question
If we have known for more than 40 years that conventional mopping systems can actually spread soils on floor surfaces, why are we still using them? For years, cleaning professionals and facility managers believed mopping effectiveness could be improved by simply using more powerful chemicals and switching to dual or separate bucket systems. Both ideas, we now know, have drawbacks.

Additionally, when the cost of labor was less, if cleaning workers had to take more time to manually brush floors to remove soiling, it did not impact the cleaning budget as much as it does today. Now, with cleaning budgets under greater scrutiny and often cut, this simply is no longer an option.

But the most likely reason cleaning workers continue using traditional mopping methods is simply that a better technology was not invented until recently. In this case, a variation of the famous quote holds true for floorcare: the necessity to clean floors more thoroughly and effectively was the mother of invention.

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The advantages of disposables.

1. No effort on collecting and laundering
2. Mop is designed to pick up dust vs wash. He will use less mops and do a better job.  Disposable can be used 10-20 times the average rental.  At the end of the shift brush apply treatment and it is ready to go for the next day. Launderable dust mops are designed to wear well in the wash not dust mop.
   1. Conservatively they are spending $2 each to launder the mops 673 mops every 2 weeks is 2692 per month
   2. Disposables at 10 times more use per mop cost about $670 for 67 mops.
3. They fit is existing frames. 
   

The key is setting a standard on when the mops get changed.  Until they fall off the frame they don’t need to be changed, just brush daily and apply dust mop treatment.  Janitors are spoiled and want a new dust mop every day!  That will be the key objection.  Saving $20K should win out in this economy.

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