Hotel Cleaning Equipments

In Hotels, major part of the revenue comes from rooms. Housekeeping plays an important part in maintaining standards of the hotel. This standard plays an important role in the reputation of the hotel. The Housekeeping department is the largest within the hotel. The housekeepers are responsible for keeping the property clean, safe & comfortable for the guests. Their jobs include cleaning & maintaining rooms and public areas, ensuring a clean overall appearance. In order to carry out this job, the housekeepers use a various array of equipments. These equipments can be categorised according to their usage.

Floors 1. Floor Pads:

Floor pads are mainly used in hotels, restaurants and households for cleaning, burnishing, stripping, scrubbing and various other purposes. Features: Soak water easily Scratch free cleaning of floor Ensure proper cleaning

2. Sponge wipe:
Sponge wipe ensures effective cleaning in cracks and corners of the floors in all the areas in the hotel. Features: Non-woven open web construction thus easy cleaning

Long lasting because new mineral is constantly exposed to the work surface Ideal for use with cleaning solutions Non-rusting and mildew resistant Scratch-free cleaning when used damp or dry

Can eliminate the use of cleaning chemicals Faster cleaning means less labor required Less waste than conventional wipes or paper Reusable

3. Single Disk scrubber:

Single Disk Scrubber machine, which is used for hard scrubbing and floor maintenance jobs. Known for durability and high performance, these are also utilized for restoration and crystallization of marble floors.

Features: It is made of a heavy duty design with metal structure. Useful in cleaning lobby floors and marble floorings It is very heavy to carry it from one place to another. Its the best floor scrubbing machine.

4. Ride on sweeper:
Ride on sweeper is ideal for outdoor and indoor cleaning of the floors. It cleans the floor without taking much effort. It has a seat where the person sits and rides the sweeper.

Features:
High capacity cartridge filter system with replaceable individual filter enables effective filtering of fine dust on sweeping An attachment of Seat Cart makes the operators work stress free on large area sweeping

5. Brushes :
These are designed to remove dry or wet dust and dirt from hard or soft surfaces.

Types of brushes: Hard brush:

Hard brushes are used to clean heavy soil and litter from the carpet

Soft brush:
These brushes help to remove loose soil and litter on hard and smooth surfaces

6. Brooms:
Sweeping brooms consist of long bristles gathered together and inserted into a handle. The bristles of broom may be made of grass, corn, or coconut fibres.

Types of broom: Soft bristled broom:

Soft bristled brooms such as corn-fibre brooms, grass brooms and whisk brooms are used on smooth floors.

Hard bristled brooms:

These brooms are mostly used to clean coarse surfaces.

7. Mops: Dry mops:

Also called dust control mops, these are designed to remove soil and debris from floors, walls, and ceilings without raising and dissipating dust. These mops generally consist of a handle to which a metal frame is attached.

Wet mop:
These mops are used in conjunction with buckets for the removal of dirt adhering to a surface. The mop heads can be made of cotton, sponge or any other fibre capable of absorbing moisture well.

8. Vacuum cleaners:
Vacuum cleaners remove debris, soil, and water from a surface by suction. All vacuum cleaners work on the same operating principles. In all types, a motor drives an impeller, which sucks in air through an inlet, creating a difference in pressure between the air within and that outside the machine. Air drawn in from the inlet passes through and out of machine. Usually the air is sucked in together with soil, debris, or water. The dust is collected into a container provided, which may be enclosed within the body of the machine or on outside in the form of a bag.

Bathroom Cleaning Equipments for Bathrooms include: 1. Absorbent bags for cleaning all surfaces 2. Multipurpose cleaner that includes anti-bacterial additive 3. Stiff brush thorough cleaning of the inside of the toilet bowl 4. A streak- free cleaner for mirrors and fixtures for leaving it spot free and shiny. 5. Squeegees to clean shower stains and doors.

6. Mop to clean floors. 7. Swabs and Wipes for flooring and walls. 8. Vapor Steam Cleaners cleaning tiles, tubs, ceramic ware, faucets, windows, mirrors, racks, doors

Carpet & Upholstery 1. Carpet dryer

One of the major worries when cleaning carpets is the drying time. The heavier the carpet, the longer the drying time. Carpet cleaning machines that require 24 hours of drying time put businesses in a poor position. A low moisture carpet cleaner does just that. It uses minimal water and achieves the same level of cleaning that machines with higher flow rates do. Using minimal water has many benefits: a. Lower water bills b. Lower cost of water collection and disposal c. No need to draw excess water from clients supply d. Less residual moisture on carpets and floors e. Happier clients Carpet dryers are used to get out wrinkles and get rid of odours.

2. Carpet shampooers
It has the following features: a. Large solution and extraction chambers b. Automatic refilling and dumping of water c. Two heating elements to speedily heat water d. High pump pressure for powerful, consistent cleaning e. Long hoses to cover large area without moving the machine

3. Super silent vacuum cleaners

A vacuum cleaner is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dirt and dust from the carpet or rugs. The dirt is collected through a filtering system that has to be cleaned thoroughly once in a month The advantages of these vacuum cleaners are: a. Convenient b. Safe c. High performance d. Comfort

4. Foam generator
a. This equipment is used to produce dry foam b. It is proved to help in efficient cleaning c. And dries carpets much faster.

Window cleaning
Windows have to be cleaned by the housekeepers on a regular basis. The equipments required by them to perform these tasks include i. ii. iii. Microfiber cloth- fabric made with microfiber, very useful as they are soft & absorb water well. They also do not leave lint or dust during cleaning of glass. Squeegee- its a flat smooth rubber blade on a T-handle, used to remove water from the glass surface. Surface washers

Kitchen cleaning equipments

The kitchen area of the hotel needs most importance, as contamination risk is highest.

Dusters and cleaning towels Griddle cleaner- specialised to clean grease stains High heat squeegees Grill scrapers Heat resistant micro fiber cloth Easy adapter water hose Dishwashers Pot wash sinks Clearance trolleys

Environmental Trends in the Hospitality industry

Why is environmentally conscious cleaning important? Compliance Laws require organisations to use products which have a reduced impact on the environment Cost Control Environmentally safe products reduce risk to users & those around them. This helps minimize the companys liability for illness. Customer Perception - The public increasingly views environmentally responsible organizations as preferable to those that have not taken such a stance.

Corporate Citizenship - Environmentally conscious cleaning advances companies' sustainable business strategies, improving both their business models and their role in the communities they serve.

Guidelines for going green

Each hotel should form an Environmental Committee that develops an environmental green plan. Manage the hotel environmental performance by monitoring usage information on a regular basis. Usage of compact fluorescent lamps, wherever possible. Installing of digital thermostats within the hotel. Implement a towel and linen reuse program. Implement a recycling program. Efficient disposal or recycling of hazardous materials found within fluorescent bulbs & batteries. Purchasing of energy star labeled appliances & equipment.

These actions are followed by any property who claims their status as an eco-friendly establishment.