Masonry Magazine July 2010 Page. 23

Words: Earl Bickett, Clint Bridges, Joel Aronie
Masonry Magazine July 2010 Page. 23

Masonry Magazine July 2010 Page. 23
The elements of cleaning

FIRST, ONE NEEDS TO KNOW what type of contaminate is involved. Common contaminates include those that can be seen such as dirt and grease, to those that can't be seen, like bacteria and germs. Knowing these facts will dictate whether the job needs something that will provide a quick rinse, or if it will require a machine that will kill germs and sanitize as well.

The next step is finding the combination of elements that will best solve the problem. There are four basic elements of cleaning: flow, chemical, temperature and pressure. Changing one element, even slightly, significantly affects the other three. Furthermore, any deficiency in one element can be made up for by a stronger presence of another. When the elements are thoroughly understood, one can come up with the best solution to a given cleaning problem.

The best way to introduce the four elements is to visualize a basic cleaning task, like someone washing dirt off his hands. The cold water from the faucet (flow) combined with rubbing his hands together (pressure) would be sufficient to remove the dirt, but would not provide a thorough cleaning. In order to accomplish this, adding some soap (chemical) and warmer water (temperature) would be effective and also speeds up the process.

But what if instead of dirt, the hands are covered in a greasy deposit? In this case, flow, pressure, chemical and a cold temperature of water would not be enough to provide a thorough cleaning, as cold water does not effectively remove grease. To clean away grease, hot water combined with the other elements is required.

Now let's take this hand-washing example and change it a bit to illustrate the fact that any deficiency in one element can be made up for by more effort from another. Imagine the man's hands are not covered in light dirt or grease, but this time are caked with mud. The presence of all four elements would be necessary to efficiently clean the mud off his hands.

But what if hot water isn't available? His hands can still be cleaned thoroughly, but not without more effort from the other elements. Maybe using a stronger soap or scrubbing his hands together more briskly to create additional pressure would make up for the low temperature. Both of these would be effective ways for the other elements to work harder and compensate for the one that is lacking. Conversely, if a weak chemical were being used, added pressure and the use of hotter water would make up for the deficiency.

Obviously, nobody is going to need a pressure washer to effectively clean his hands. But this example breaks down the Any deficiency in one element can be made up for by a stronger presence of another.

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July 2010
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