Innovations in Cleaning Surfacing issues Emerging solutions

Two decades back, an intelligent cleaning robot was a tall order. And a century ago a machine as big as a motorized street sweeper was a ‘yet-to-beaccepted’ concept. Cleaning machines have been evolving over the years but real time innovations have surfaced with the need to customize for various applications; more so since 2000. Clean India Journal takes a quick walk down the historic lane and captures some of the latest innovations added to cleaning machines, specially for Indian consumers.

[box type=”shadow” ]Between 1911 and the 1960s almost all the basic cleaning machines had hit the market and had become a way of life in many parts of the globe… In India, mechanized cleaning still faces competition from a humble broom![/box]

The first half of 1800 saw the railways making waves and it was around the same time mechanized cleaning surfaced with C.S. Bishop getting the patent for the first street sweeper in the 1840s. Who ever thought that all sorts of picking devices attached to regular vehicles would evolve into the mighty and majestic road sweepers of today. Between 1911 and the 1960s almost all the basic cleaning machines had hit the market and had become a way of life in many parts of the globe.

Cleaning machines made way into India in the 1980s and it took over two decades to make an impact on the consumers. Even though today, most of the cleaning machines have been adapted in core applications, mechanized cleaning still faces competition from a humble broom! Interestingly, the broom is a national symbol of a massive cleaning movement in India.

Speaking of brooms, which besides being widely used as a manual cleaning tool, innovatively had found a place in a contraption used for street cleaning. The rotating wheel of old-fashioned brooms trailing behind a van gave a whole new meaning to road sweeping. (Figure 1). What seems like a sci-fi creation of yesteryears, the broomstick sweeper is actually a well-designed machine that was used to sweep the streets of China for several years. It was a simple machine with about 16 broomsticks attached to an iron wheel on the back of a vehicle. It rotated at high speed and the fan of the sweepers captured dust, dirt and debris along the way. An innovative and cost effective solution in that period, required just straw brooms replacement periodically.

There were a lot of innovations, alterations and modifications along the way… Floor cleaning machines in many cases saw technological advancements much after the 1980s. Right from the consumption of water, chemicals usage, running time, brush size, speed, area coverage, filtration, cleaning quality… and so on, were developed in keeping with user requirements.

[box type=”shadow” ]Quoting from a white paper, “more than 50% of heavy metals and other serious pollutants are attached to particles that are 60 microns in size and smaller, even though particles of this size compose a relatively insignificant amount of the total weight and volume of a typical sweeper’s hopper load.[/box]

Sweepers

The technical changes introduced right from mechanical broom sweepers to vacuum sweepers to regenerative air sweepers and the different variations of sweepers used in-premise have improvised the processes and work quality.

Quoting from a white paper, “more than 50% of heavy metals and other serious pollutants are attached to particles that are 60 microns in size and smaller (as a comparison, a human hair is about 70 microns in width), even though particles of this size compose a relatively insignificant amount of the total weight and volume of a typical sweeper’s hopper load. It has been confirmed that even though a street may look clean (before or after being swept), there still may be a significant loading of small micron, pollution-laden debris on it. From an environmental standpoint, it is exactly this material that it is most important to remove.

“These small-micron particles are now seen to pose a significant environmental concern. That’s because with rainfall they tend to run off into stormwater systems as total suspended solids (TSS), or to get pounded into the air by passing cars (or blown into the air by wind) as fugitive dust (PM-10s).”

The highly efficient sweepers operational today not only remove accumulated material of all sizes but are designed to control fugitive dust losses through the latest vacuuming technology and sophisticated filtration system.

Sweepers used for industrial and in-premises purposes have brought in sweeping changes right from recovery of material to dust containment in terms of recovery and recycling.

More recently, the major changes introduced by Karcher involved reducing weight by changing from steel to rotational moulded frames and parts. This led to the usage of smaller more economical engines or longer running times for battery operated machines. Karcher also introduced in its mid-range a Tact filter cleaning system which continuously cleans the filter so no clogging of filters can happen; thus enabling dust-free sweeping always besides reducing the filter area.

[box type=”shadow” ]Dust and bread crumbs accumulated in-between keyboard keys is common. Some one found a convenient way for doing a quick clean up jobs. This mini, lightweight vacuum cleaner. USB Vacuum Cleaner is shaped like a retro vacuum cleaner, and plugs into the PC’s USB port. It comes with a 45 inch cord so are can clean every corner of the desk.[/box]

Given the uneven surfaces where sweepers run in Indian conditions, the main broom has been shifted from between the front and rear wheels to between the rear wheels so driving over speed-bumps is much smoother. This change has been again brought in the Karcher midrange sweepers.

Dulevo has brought in innovative, modular structure sweeoers with the unique tillable cabin and the on-top-centered position of all main components, allowing simple and easy access to all important components for service and maintenance. More over the machine has been made fully hydrostatic driven without the use of any electronic components.

In cooperation with Gore® Dulevo developed the fine dust filtration sweeper. This mechanicalsuction- filtration system grants a total abatement of PM10 particles.

Again given to Indian conditions requiring stu
rdy and robust machines, there has been a makeover in the Roots Multiclean ride on sweeper. Highly powder coated metallic chassis has been introduced and at the same time in keeping with fuel efficient diesel option has been in-built in the sweeper machines.

With filtration being a focal point in most innovations/alterations in the last couple of years, Roots has introduced high-absorbing filters. These filters are designed to sweep heavy concentration of industrial debris, stone, glass, metal chips, pellets, sand particles found in extreme industrial and manufacturing environments, both indoors and outdoors. The filtering system includes two high-efficiency filters that trap particles capturing all airborne dust. Additionally, the machine has powerful filter shaking motors which enable easy de-dusting and keep the filter clean.

[box type=”shadow” ]The Bathroom Cleaning Robot, from Russia, is an innovative techie assistant to clean and tidy up your bathrooms automatically. You will be amazed at its perfect performance! When connected to water tap, the robot then starts to clean your room with a cleaning cloth. Whatever the showers, bathtubs, sinks, floors or walls, the cute robot can clean them in an efficient way. Even better, the sucker pads on the bottom still allow it to climb up the wall to ensure a complete cleanliness.[/box]

Scrubber

Not much was done initially with scrubber dryers except for the introduction of various brushes and pads in the 1970s. Alterations in the size, weight, water consumption pattern or wastewater recycling facilities, alternate fuel/battery options and others have been in-built or introduced only in the recent years. In the 2000s, scrubber-dryers were tuned to track locations and produce real time performance data, as the innovative phase set in to measure the operational efficiency of various machines.

Some of the innovations introduced in battery operated machines include the interchange of brush heads for the different bodies, making it simpler for customers to always use the right system either disc or roller brushes. More use of electronics makes it easier to operate and still ensure the optimum water/ detergents consumption as well as the brush pressure, so the running time can be extended.

Innovative accessories introduced previously for multifunctional cleaning activities, have advanced to include the operations of two machines in one. Floor cleaning essentially involves pre-sweeping of the area before running the scrubber dryer. A simple attachment mounted in front of the ride on scrubber does away with the need for a separate sweeping process and machine and also an extra operator. Roots has introduced this last year.

[box type=”shadow” ]The Dust Ball is designed to roll around on the floor, propelled by an internal motor that shifts the center of gravity to make it move. When the battery is depleted the Dust Ball rolls back into its charging hoop, while a full container will cause it to stop and glow. There’s a reason other existing robotic cleaners are low and squat, as this allows them to get under furniture where dust bunnies tend to hide. The Dust Ball’s big size also means it’s going to have a hard time cleaning up close to the wall[/box]

Similarly, a new class of machine has been created by Karcher in its mechanized mop with functions of a scrubber. This new machine provides fresh water for cleanig and mechanical vacuum systems to dry the floor. It also automatically empties the dirty water in a separate tank. Without any power, the unit needs to be just pushed around. Besides, structural and operational changes, there has been a wide range of additions and deletions made to scrubbers; prominent among them being the cold and hot water cleaning options.

The irony, in spite of innovative solutions brought to the fore, is the lack of immediate acceptance. Even today, brooms or for that matter mechanical broom sweepers take the streets to deliver a cosmetic cleaning rather than actual cleaning.

While, sweepers and scrubbers are larger machines, vacuums and high pressures are equally essential for floor cleaning and have much wider applications. Clean India Journal will bring an account of these machines in the forthcoming issues.