Friday, May 10, 2013

The Great Mop Dilemma

I Mop, You Mop, We All Mop

For over 100 years the mop has graced nearly every household, business and factory. Almost every floor that has ever been in the last century has met a mop. They are able to clean spills and stains, wood or linoleum. Over those 100 years the needs of the cleaning industry have evolved and the mop has had to evolve with it. As the mop evolved it changed into two main iterations and it can be difficult to know which mop is right for your work. In this article the differences between the string mop as well as the microfiber or ‘flat mop’ will be discussed. Hopefully at the end it will be easier to choose which mop is best for you.

A mop is an essential part of cleaning in any setting but the different kinds of mops are better for different situations. The first kind of mop that we will discuss is the String Mop. String mops are the original mops.  Credit for first inventing mops goes to a Thomas Stewart who received a patent in 1893. Despite being over 100 years old Stewarts string mop continues to be a major tool in any cleaning arsenal. The modern mop has undergone certain improvements but the principal is the same. This century old invention still holds as one of the best ways to absorb liquid. This is the primary advantage to the string mop versus the microfiber or flat mop, which does not have the absorption capacity of the string mop. Because of this, many cleaning companies prefer the string mop on uneven surfaces such as corrugated floors or ceramic floors where there is grout. The string mop can get into all the small spaces the grout creates. This mop is best for areas that are prone to a lot of liquid such as schools, community centers, or restaurants. Another significant issue with upgrading to the microfiber mop is the cost to the company. The microfiber head requires more care than most string mop users are used to and new buckets designed for the microfiber mop must be purchased. So for now, in areas involving a high level of spills, string mops are still the tools of choice.

Despite the level of maintenance required for microfiber flat mops they have broken their way onto the cleaning scene with force. While they may not be able to absorb as much liquid, they can clean with much less water all together. This allows them to be more efficient; in areas where sources of water might be very spread out efficiency in a huge advantage. There are a couple other economical advantages to the microfiber mop. Each mop head is much easier to clean even if it has to be done more often. A washer and dryer are all you need. Flat mops can also be used for both wet and dry mopping. The double purpose decreases on the amount of products that must be purchased. The mops can also be equipped with a bucket free system as well. A chemical storage reservoir can be attached to the pole making water virtually unneeded. Companies have reported these mops being used in a variety of settings, particularly with concrete or vinyl composition tile (VLC). Another significant advantage to the flat mop is its ease of use. Because the mop head is smaller and lighter with not as much water in it the entire mop is more ergonomic and as a result is popular in the home where only small spills occur and not as much water is needed.

No matter your choice of mop http://www.completesupplyco.com/ has what you need! With a user friendly website and a comprehensive search system it is simple to find the style of mop that fits your work the best.

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