Housekeeping Cleaning Supplies, Tools, Chemicals and Equipment

Good housekeeping requires high standard of cleanliness or the absence of dirt, and its sanitation as well, or the absence of disease-causing organisms like bacteria. All housekeeping tasks need the use of the right tool for the right job. Familiarization on the following cleaning supplies, tools and equipment will help the hospitality provider an utmost service to its guests and therefore attaining its goal and objectives.

Cleaning supplies and small cleaning equipment items are part of the non-recycled inventory in the housekeeping department. These supplies are consumed or used up in the course of routine housekeeping operations.

Controlling inventories of all cleaning supplies and ensuring their effective use is an important responsibility of the executive housekeeper. The executive housekeeper must work with all members of the housekeeping department to ensure the correct use of cleaning materials and adherence to cost-control procedures.

Brooms: Soft Broom Stick Broom Push Broom Corn Broom The role of a broom is to remove large particles of soil from hard and resilient floors.

Soft Broom

Stick Broom

Push Broom

Corn Broom

Mop Bucket Cart (Mop Trolley) A mop bucket cart (or mop trolley) is a wheeled bucket that allows user to wring out a wet mop without getting the hands dirty. The cart has two buckets with the upper one usually clipped onto the lower. The upper bucket is used to place wet mop for storage and press handle to wring out the mop. Water trickles down to another bucket below collects the waste water. In some carts there are separate lower front bucket to collect waste water. The smaller lower rear bucket is filled with floor cleaning solution. Wheels are usually present to allow the user to push the cart around using the wring handle bar to steer. These carts are usually made of heavy duty plastic and usually found in institutional (hospitals), commercial (office) or industrial settings, but can be used in the home as a more convenient and less dirty tool to cleaning floors.

Mop Bucket Cart (Mop Trolley)

Floor Mop A mop (such as a floor mop) is a mass or bundle of coarse strings or yarn, etc., or a piece of cloth, sponge, or other absorbent material, attached to a pole or stick. It is used to soak up liquid, for cleaning floors and other surfaces, to mop up dust, or for other cleaning purposes.

Dry Mop (Dust Mop) A dry-mop or dust-mop is designed to pick up dry, loose contamination such as dust, earth and sand from the surface of the floor. The dry-mop can in many instances replace a broom and has the ability to hold a limited amount of dust or sand within itself.

Wet Mops A wet mop or moist mop is, in professional cleaning, used as in the second step in the cleaning of a surface. The wet mop is swept over the surface to dissolve and absorb fat, mud and dried-in liquid contaminations.

Squeegees: Floor Squeegee Window Squeegee Used to remove excessive water from the surface and corners. It also speeds up the drying process. Floor squeegees have a much heavier rubber than window variety. Window squeegees come with a number of attractive features, from telescoping handles that enable a worker to clean a third story exterior window without the aid of scaffolding or a ladder, to U-joints that allow a worker to squeegee a window at an angle.

Floor Squeegee

Window Squeegee

Single-Disk Floor Machine This machine can scrub floors, strip floor finishes, spray buff floors, sand wood floors, polish floors, and shampoo carpets. Machines are available in 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21-inch models. These machines will accommodate pads, brushes, and bonnets. When selecting a standard single-dish scrubber, do not select too small a scrubber. A large machine will cover an area faster, thus reducing labor costs. A single-dish floor machine will operate between 175 rpm to 350 rpm.

Single Disc Floor Machine

Burnishers or Ultra-High-Speed Buffers Resembles like a single-disk floor machine, but they operate between 350 rpm and 2,500 rpm. They were developed to polish the new harder floor finishes that had been recently introduced into the market. Unlike single-disk floor machines, the pad of a UHS buffer does not rest entirely upon the floor. Only the front part of the pad comes into contact with the floor; the rest of the weight is distributed to the wheels.

Burnishers (Ultra-High Speed Buffers

Pads, Bonnets and Brushes Floor machines and burnishes use floor pads, bonnets, and brushes. Pads are made from either natural or synthetic fibers. Floor pads have a universal color code so that users can tell at a glance if they are using the right pad for a particular application. Bonnets are made of yarn and are intended to be used on a floor machine to spray clean carpets. Floor machine brushes are used to shampoo carpets. The fibers are synthetic.

Floor Pads White Polishing - Light dry polishing or light water spray for high gloss. Red Buffing - For spray buffing, cleaning and polishing. Blue Scrubbing - For scrubbing or heavy-duty spray cleaning. Removes soiled top layers of finish. Green Scrubbing - Ideal for heavy-duty scrubbing or light stripping. Black Stripping - For heavy-duty stripping.

Carpet Bonnets

Floor Machine Brushes

Housekeeper’s Cart / Room Attendant’s Cart / Maid’s Trolley Used for stocking cleaning supplies and chemicals so as to make cleaning easier and faster. The housekeeper’s cart is a most significant piece of equipment. There should be one cart for each section of rooms. These cart must be large enough to carry all of the supplies that the section housekeeper might readily be expected to use in the workday (repeated trips to the main or satellite linen room for two extra sheets or three more glasses is distracting and will decrease work efficiency.)

Since the cart is large and may be heavily loaded, it must be maneuverable and capable of being pushed by some one weighing less than 100 pounds. Quality housekeeper’s carts are maneuverable with fixed wheels at one end and castered wheels at the opposite end. The solution lies in quality caster and ball-bearing wheels. Carts should have three deep shelves, facilities to handle soiled linen sacks and rubbish sacks that are detachable, storage for a maid’s vacuum, and a top that is partitioned for small items. There should be a bumper guard that surrounds the cart that will protect the corridor walls and door casings. These bumpers should not leave unsightly marks if they come in contact with walls.

Housekeeper’s Cart (Room Attendant’s Cart / Maid’s Trolley)

Vacuum Used to eliminate loose dirt and dust particles from carpet surface, upholstered furniture and even hard surfaces.

Vacuum Cleaner Upright Vacuum Cleaner Hydro Vacuum Cleaner Or Wet-Dry Vacuum

Trash-Handling Equipment Another piece of equipment used by the section housekeeping aide is some sort of conveyor whereby rubbish and other materials may be moved from various sections of the hotel to a disposal area.

Trash Handling Equipment

Carpet Sweeper Used to pick-up dirt and particles from the carpet, just press the handle and push towards the dirt to vacuum sweep the carpet.

Carpet Sweeper

Carpet Extractor It is designed to dry foam shampoo the carpets. It removes dirt that sticks to or penetrates into the carpet layers.

Carpet Extractor

Scouring Pads Color coded pads that is used to scrub (green) and clean painted surfaces, mirrors, marbles, and porcelain (white).

Scouring Pads

For dusting wooden and painted parts of the area. Dusting Cloths For dusting wooden and painted parts of the area.

Dusting Cloths

Used for drying bathroom walls and floor tiles after they are cleaned. Cleaning Towel Used for drying bathroom walls and floor tiles after they are cleaned.

Cleaning Towels

For polishing metal surfaces like bathroom fixtures. Polishing Cloths For polishing metal surfaces like bathroom fixtures.

Polishing Cloths

Also used for cleaning tiles. Hand Brushes For brushing away dusts from rough surfaces such as rattan, wickerwork, etc. Also used for cleaning tiles.

Hand Brushes

For cleaning toilet bowls. Toilet Bowl Brush For cleaning toilet bowls.

Toilet Bowl Brush

For picking up dirt and cigarette buffs on ashtrays. Tongs For picking up dirt and cigarette buffs on ashtrays.

Tongs

Trash Bags Used to underline garbage containers so that wet garbage does not penetrate into the corners or surfaces, a situation that causes odor and proliferation of bacteria.

Trash Bags

For cleaning fine surfaces. Sponges For cleaning fine surfaces.

Sponges

Buckets Used with mops for cleaning floors, walls and other parts of the building.

Buckets

Wood Polish/ Furniture Cleaners and Polishes To polish wood surfaces, leather and imitation leather surfaces. Normally wax or oil-based products that contain antistatic compounds. The best polishes contain lemon oil, which serves to replenish the moisture that is lost from the wood.

Wood Polish/ Furniture Cleaners and Polishes

For fumigation to eliminate insects/pests. Insecticides For fumigation to eliminate insects/pests.

Insecticides

For polishing all glass surfaces such as mirrors, windows, etc. Glass Cleaners For polishing all glass surfaces such as mirrors, windows, etc.

Glass Cleaners

Air Freshener / Deodorizers Used to remove foul odor in guestrooms, comfort rooms or any area with foul odor.

Air Freshener / Deodorizer

For stain or spot removal on carpets. Carpet Stain Remover For stain or spot removal on carpets.

Carpet Stain Remover

Disinfectant Used to disinfect toilet bowls, urinals, sink, and other areas that are most vulnerable to bacterial contamination.

Disinfectant

Metal Cleaners and Polishers For polishing brush copper and metal surfaces.

Metal Cleaners and Polishers

Muriatic Acid (Hydrochloric Acid) To be used only for removing cement or plastic remains from floors. This is not advisable for toilet bowls since it is very strong and it can damage the tiles. Dilution will depend on the thickness of cement or plastic remains.

Muriatic Acid (Hydrochloric Acid)

Formulated to break up, loosen and strip off tough old waxes. Wax Stripper Formulated to break up, loosen and strip off tough old waxes.

Wax Stripper

Degreaser Formulated to remove grease, oil, dirt, carbon, ink, mildews, soils, and waxes.

Degreaser

Emulsion Wax A buffable wax used for resilient floors like vinyl, linoleum, and rubber tile and for concrete floors and marble.

Emulsion Wax

A non-buffable wax that is highly recommended for wooden floors. Polymer Sealer A non-buffable wax that is highly recommended for wooden floors.

Polymer Sealer

A kerosene base wax used for wooden floors. Solvent Wax A kerosene base wax used for wooden floors.

Solvent Wax

To expedite draining of clogs. Drain Cleaners To expedite draining of clogs.

Drain Cleaners

Used to remove soil from a surface through a chemical action. Detergents Used to remove soil from a surface through a chemical action.

Detergents

All-Purpose Cleaners (APC) A multi-purpose agent designed for several different cleaning tasks depending upon the dilution ratio applied.

All-Purpose Cleaners (APC)

Abrasive Cleaners Normally contain a detergent combined with bleach and an abrasive (usually silica, a quartz dust that can scratch glass).

Abrasive Cleaners

Solvent Cleaners Used to clean surfaces that are badly soiled by grease, tar, or oil. Solvents are made from pine oils, kerosene, and alcohols.

Solvent Cleaners

Alkaline Cleaners Alkalies in cleaning agents boost the cleaning ability of detergents. They also have disinfecting powers. Alkalies in all-purpose cleaners typically have a pH between 8 and 9.5.

Alkaline Cleaner

Delimers Used to remove mineral deposits that can dull, scale, and/or discolor surfaces.

Delimers

End of Presentation