| The various cleaning machines available on the | | | | open to the general public, vast amounts of litter can |
| market today are making cleaning tasks ever easier. | | | | be left behind and manually collecting it would take an |
| This article examines some of the techniques these | | | | unfeasible amount of man hours. If the floor surface |
| machines use to gain better results with less effort. | | | | was tough enough and the area had vehicular access |
| Steam | | | | you could simply use a street sweeper however this |
| The abrasive power of water plays a huge part in | | | | is not always practical to use such a large machine |
| the cleaning of carpets and fabrics. Cleaning machines | | | | inside venues such as large exhibition halls. The ideal |
| circulate steam through a small area of the material | | | | solution in this situation is a sweeper. These cleaning |
| at speed to draw contaminants away. The heat and | | | | machines are miniature versions of the mechanism on |
| speed of the steam helps separate any dirt from the | | | | a street sweeper and they allow the user to simply |
| material, the flow of air then helps to dry the surface | | | | push the device along as it automatically collects and |
| immediately after the steam has been applied. In | | | | debris in its path. While these machines can be used |
| some cases the area being cleaned needs to be | | | | indoors and out on hard surfaces such as parquet, |
| ready to use directly after the cleaning has | | | | tiles or tarmac they are not suitable for the soft |
| completed. If this is a requirement, a more powerful | | | | undulating ground of a field. |
| vacuum will help dry the area more quickly. | | | | Scrubber Dryers |
| Chemicals | | | | When very large floor spaces need to be routinely |
| In some cases water alone may not be enough to | | | | cleaned the simplest way to get the best result is |
| achieve a suitable result. In these cases a detergent | | | | using a scrubber dryer. Some of these cleaning |
| is added which cuts through the dirt and suspends it | | | | machines are large enough to have a ride on |
| in the condensed steam. When the cleaning machine | | | | capability and do the job of a steam vacuum cleaner |
| collects the waste water the detergent and | | | | by simply running over affected areas. Some of |
| contaminants are drawn along with the water leaving | | | | these cleaning machines also combine the ability to |
| the carpet as clean as it was before it was soiled. | | | | collect litter with steam, detergent and a vacuum. |
| Sweepers | | | | The largest of these machines is capable of cleaning |
| Litter can be a big problem as well. In large areas | | | | an area up to 6000 metres squared in a single hour. |