There are several housekeeping tools and equipment used by the housekeepers in performing

their cleaning duties. Equipment and tools depend on the type of surface and areas to clean.

1. Identify the different housekeeping tools and equipment.

2. Describe the functions of each housekeeping tools and equipment.

Does modern technology give us ease in cleaning?

Each housekeeping tool and equipment is precisely designed for a specific purpose, so
choosing the correct tool will also decrease the amount of effort required to get a job done right
without causing damage to either the equipment or the surface being worked on. Choosing the
right housekeeping materials will help us clean effectively and efficiently.
Housekeeping Tools and Equipment and Their Functions
Cleaning huge carpets, big rooms and delicate linens are some of the things that you
have to do as part of the housekeeping department. You do not have to worry because with the
help of technology, companies, and big hotels find a way to help you to become more efficient
in doing your job by providing you the materials, tools, and equipment needed to at least make
your cleaning duties easier and faster.
Housekeeping supplies and equipment constitute the set of materials needed to perform
the task of a housekeeper. These range from simple hand- held tools like cleaning brushes and
cleaning agents and solutions to complex heavy- duty equipment like that of a vacuum cleaner.
There are two types of cleaning equipment, the manual and mechanical equipment. Let
us define and understand each type.

A. Manual Cleaning Equipment

As the name suggests, this equipment is used using our bare hands without the
aid of electricity. The amount of cleanliness clearly depends on the energy and
knowledge of the worker. Humans as we are, we get tired easily even just cleaning our
own house or even our bedroom, and the cleanliness we want to achieve will always
depend on the mood or drive that we have.
Figure 5 shows the common manually operated equipment used in the
housekeeping department. The most common manual equipment we use in the
housekeeping department are the following:
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Figure 1. Common Manual Equipment in the Housekeeping Department

1. Brushes
The type of brushes that are being referred here are the ones used in cleaning
like those devices with bristles or wires. Brushes has three main types:
a. Hard brush- these have stiff bristles and well- spaced. It is good for removal of
litters. Example: upholstery brush, carpet brush etc.

b. Soft brush- these have flexible bristles. These are used to remove soils. Example:
tooth brush, shoe brush, coat brush etc.

c. Scrubbing brush- these are used to remove heavily soiled materials from small
areas. Mechanical scrubbing can help by doing so if applicable and possible.
Example: deck scrubber
Below are some of the brushes commonly used in the housekeeping department for
cleaning. Getting to know their variety will help you in cleaning effectively.
A. TOILET BRUSHES
Hotels have different types of brushes used in cleaning the toilet (Figure 6).
These include:
a. Ring-type used for cleaning bowls that have semi-hard bristles along the
ring. This is not very effective in cleaning corners and rims.
b. Cluster type is used for water closet cleaning.
c. Hockey type this type of toilet brush can clean inner edges as well as the
inner rims. You just have to be careful in using this because it can damage the
equipment if not used properly
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Figure 2. Types of Toilet Brush

B. ROOM BRUSHES
Room brushes is commonly used in any lodging establishment to clean various
surfaces. Table 1 shows the common brushes and their description used in
cleaning the guest room.
Table 1. Types of Room Brush

TYPES IMAGE DESCRIPTION/ USES

This is intended for

cleaning large areas like
Long Handled corridors and walls. It is
Scrubbing Brush used primarily in wet
cleaning of large
surfaces.

A semi-hard bristled
brush that is used in
cleaning and or removing
cobwebs from high
Cobweb Brush
ceilings. The handle
should be long enough
that could extend up to
10 feet.
 This is a hard-bristled
brush used in cleaning
hard soiled and stubborn
areas. This is designed
Hand Scrubbing for cleaning stained and
Brush very dirty corners of the
floor or could also be
used as cloth scrubbing
brush.

This is a semi-hard
bristled brush intended
Upholstery Brush for fabric upholstery
cleaning.

Carpet It is a semi-hard bristled

Shampooing brush used for wet
Brush cleaning of carpeted
surfaces.

It is a soft-bristled brush
Shoe Brush used for polishing leather
shoes and upholstered
items

It is a soft-bristled brush
that is used for
inaccessible edges of the
Tooth Brush glass frames, flooring,
tiles and the like use for
both dry and wet
cleaning.

Pipe brush This is used for cleaning

pipes.

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2. Brooms
Brooms are cleaning tools made up of stiff fibers attached to a stick for
sweeping floors or walls. Table 2 shows the types of brooms and their uses.
Table 2. Types of Brooms

TYPES IMAGE DESCRIPTION/USES

A soft broom is made

up of corn fiber or
Soft Broom grass which is used
in cleaning hard and
smooth areas.

The broom is usually

made up of coconut
Hard Broom fiber used in cleaning
both hard and
smooth surfaces.

It is made up of very
hard sticks and is
heavy enough to
Yard Broom carry. This is used in
cleaning large
outdoor areas. It can
clean both hard and
smooth surfaces.
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3. Mops and cleaning clothes

These tools are generally used in cleaning floors and other surfaces to have a
good-looking working condition. We usually call all mops as ordinary mops and that they
have the same purpose no matter how big or small it is. There are different types of
mops (Figure 8). These include:
a. Dry mop or dust mop: also called dust mop is designed to pick up dry, loose
contamination like dust, earth, and sand from the floor surface.
b. Moist mop: in professional cleaning, used as a second step in the cleaning of a
surface. This is swept over the surface to dissolve and absorb fat, mud and dried-in
liquid contaminations.
c. Hot mop: or wet mop is similar to steam iron. After adding water, it is heated to
make the water exude on top of the floor, which can then be cleaned without using a
cleaning solvent. These works on surfaces where a regular mop would also be used,
such as floors, hearths, and laminates.
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Figure 3. Types of Mops

4. Squeegees
A squeegee is a cleaning tool with a flat, smooth and thick rubber blade, used to
remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is often used in cleaning glass
doors and windows.

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Figure 4. Sample Image of a Squeegee

5. TROLLEYS
A small to medium-sized wheeled cart that is used to carry things like cleaning
agents, linens trash, and small cleaning equipment. There are different types of trolleys
depending on their uses (Table 3).
Table 3. Types of Trolleys

Source:
TYPES IMAGE DESCRIPTION/USES tutorialspoint.com

B. Mechanical Cleaning Equipment

To allow time-saving, efficient, and effective cleaning, hotels used mechanical
cleaning equipment. Mechanical equipment is powered by electricity or gas. A well-
trained staff is needed to operate this type of equipment since improper usage can lead
to damage and safety hazard. Some of the mechanical cleaning equipment found in
hotels are presented in Figure 10.
 It has a detachable
trash bag and has a
place for storing
cleaning agents used in
Jani or Trolley cleaning public areas. It Source:
tutorialspoint.com
also has a
compartment used for Figure 5. Types of
Mechanical
storing cleaning Equipment
supplies.

This equipment 1.
consists of a mop and Vacuum
one or twin buckets Cleaners
with an attached We are all
wringer, all mounted on familiar with how
a trolley with castor the vacuum
wheels for easy works (Table 4).
mobility. It is used in We get to see
cleaning public areas. this stuff in
Mop Wringer One compartment is movies and the
used for fresh cleaning internet, right?
Trolley
solution and the other Well, this dust
and dirt sucking
with attached wringer is
device comes in
used for soil (dirt) different forms
solution as well as with or models
mops according to its
usage. This is
It is an equipment very useful in
which can store hotels especially
cleaning materials used carpeted floors
Floor Caddy for easy removal
for cleaning public
areas. of dirt. The dirt's
are being stored
in a filtering
This can be used to system and can
transfer clean linen be disposed of
from laundry to linen later after
room. They may be cleaning.
made of aluminum or
Linen Trolley
steel. Table 4. Types of Dry
Vacuum Cleaner

TYPES IMAGE DESCRIPTION/USES

 Also known as a room
a endan rolle or
maid car , hi rolle
is designed to be
spacious enough to
Chamber maid carry all supplies
Trolley needed in servicing
guest rooms in
different floors so as to
save time and energy of
the room attendant.
This is made in wood,
metal and plastic.
A. Dry Vacuum Cleaner

This is used in dry

cleaning, it is an
effective cleaning
Cylindrical Vacuum machine for sucking
dir on dr carpe .
A type of vacuum
cleaner in which dirt,
dust, is sucked into
a hard cylinder
rather than a bag.

Upright designs
generally employ a
rotating brush roll or
beater bar, which
Upright Vacuum removes dirt through
/Canister Type a combination of
sweeping and
vibration.
 Backpack vacuums
have a variety of
commercial and
industrial cleaning
Backpack Vacuums applications and can
be used for
everything from hard
to reach areas to
large scale
applications that
require added
mobility.

A central vacuum
system also
known as a whole-
house vacuum is a
built-in system in
which pipes run
through the interior
Centralised Vacuum walls of the home
and are connected
to a large vacuum
system typically
located in a garage
or basement.
Suction ports, which
resemble electrical
outlets, are added to
walls throughout the
home, allowing the
user to easily attach
and detach a hose
and move from
room to room
without hauling
around a heavy
vacuum.
 Designed to raise
the pile or face yarns
of carpeting which
Pile-lifter Vacuum
has been crushed or
flattened by
pedestrian traffic,
while providing a
high degree of
vacuum cleaning.

These are small,

lightweight vacuum
cleaners carried in
Dustettes or the hand and used
Handheld Vacuum for cleaning curtains,
Cleaners upholstery edges,
mattresses,
computers and
music systems.
They clean by
brushing and suction
and are very easy to
handle.

B. Wet and Dry Vacuum Cleaner

This picks up all

kinds of dirt, may it
be wet or dry. This
Wet and Dry machine gets the
Vacuum Cleaner squeaky clean floors
which is way better
than broom and
mops.
 Spray Extraction Used in cleaning
Machine textiles surface or
hard floors in a
single pass because
of its powerful
suction turbines.

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2. Other Mechanical Equipment

There are also other mechanical equipment used in housekeeping. Table 5 below shows some
of the mechanical equipment.
Table 5. Other Mechanical Equipment used in Housekeeping Department

TYPES IMAGE DESCRIPTION/USES

This is used in scrubbing,
cleaning and drying the
floor which works in
Scrubber
outdoor and indoor
Driers
surfaces.

This equipment has a

tank attached to the
machine that releases
water and detergent
Scrubbing / during the scrubbing
Polishing stage. It has several
Machines brushes which revolve
and scrub the floor when
used. This equipment is
quite expensive.
This machine is used in
doing floor works, like
scrubbing floors. This has
different brushes that can
Floor be replaced according to
Maintenance usage. It has several
Machine small brushes which
revolve while scrubbing
the floor. Always
remember to remove the
 used pads after use to
avoid accidents.
This machine is used in
shampooing carpets with
Carpet
nylon brushes that are
Shampooing
capable of cleaning or
Machine
brushing the carpet piles.
The item is immersed in
the solution tank with
organic solvent that
produces bubbles
exerting high frequency
Ultrasonic sound that makes the soil
Cleaners stick on the surface of
the machine. This is used
in cleaning delicate
equipment like printed
circuit boards.

This machine has chisel

action of wire brush that
breaks the soil into
smaller pieces. It can
Scarifying
remove light and heavy
Machine
soiled items that are
impossible through
scrubbing. It is also used
in renovating old floors
This is also known as
autoclave. The eam
tiny vapour is effective in
penetrating pores on the
surfaces that forces out
the dirt and grease to
Steam come out and kills germs
Cleaners and bacteria. This is very
helpful in cleaning the
water closet and public
toilet. This is mostly used
in infectious places
where cross
contamination occurs.
 This machine uses hot
water and detergent as a
Steam cleaning agent injected
Extraction into the machine to clean
Machines surfaces like carpets.