Domestic cleaning tools

Low cost All-in-one Domestic cleaning tools

Trib-Tools provide a new approach to cleaning

With Trib-Tools we aim to deliver the ultimate user 'convenience with safety' when cleaning and treating surfaces.

All Trib-Tools are multi purpose devices with some or all of the following capabilities: dispensing fluids, spreading and agitating to maximise wetting and surfactant action, then scraping off loosened dirt and used fluid and drying. The tools can hold the collected up dirt trapped within the tool - all done with minimal usage of cleaning fluid, while keeping hands clean and dry. Thus it is only necessary to pick up a single item to carry out a cleaning job.

Cleaning fluids, generally proprietary blends of surfactants (soaps/detergents), solvents or caustic reactants, (the so called 'power cleaners') require mechanical agitation to be fully effective. Mild abrasive rubbing raises surface energy to drive chemical interaction or reaction. By applying the cleaning fluid via a mildly abrasive rubbing medium, Trib-Tools use only minimal amounts of fluid to maximum benefit; the abrasive chosen to be hard enough to scrape off dirt but less hard than the surface to avoid scratching!

Increasing fears that long term exposure to cleaning chemicals may be dangerous drives the alternative approach of using clean cold water with micro-fibre pads and sheets, which virtually eliminates chemical use. Trib-Tools are ideal for mounting micro-fibres and making best use of micro-fibres.

Patents are pending on three Trib-Tool formats for uses broadly as follows:

Sticks - housed in moulded polypropylene plastic cases that resemble deodorant sticks, the stick comprises of a stack of peel-off layers of non-woven fibres soaked in the cleaning fluid, used layers are simply peeled off to reveal new work surfaces. The non-woven rubbing face can vary from soft felt like pads to hard abrasive scouring materials. These devices are essentially spill proof and dispense only minimal amounts of cleaning fluid. These sticks are useful for:

	Cleaning off adhering stuff such as dried or burnt on food from hobs and ovens.
	Removal of lime scale and electrolytic corrosion by-products from taps.
	Treatment and repair of timber floors or furniture, smoothing and sealing damaged surfaces by abrasion to smooth and application of wax polishes to seal and shine done with a single tool simultaneously.
	Applying wood preservatives, colourings and finishes by working them deep into the timber whilst smoothing the surfaces and removing ingrained stains and dirt.
	Foot-wear cleaning and polishing.

Sheets - self contained formed sheet with three dimensional thermoformed functional structure that provide extra convenience when cleaning because they do not loose stiffness when wet as wipes and cloths do. These sheets act as a distributed package that stores and dispenses the cleaning chemical and agitates, scrapes off and stores removed dirt (including soil and sand grains, dried food crumbs etc) away from the surface. The manufacturing technology provides densified non scratching scraper edges capable of scraping up wetted adhering stuff, including particulates from polished stainless steel, marble, plastic or glass without scratching. Trib-Sheets may be shaped into hand pads or finger pads or attached to Trib-Blades for specific uses. Uses for sheets and pads include:

	Stand alone general purpose cleaning of large surfaces like floors, work tops and walls.
	Cleaning up mud and removal of particulate laden dirt .
	Integration of Trib-Pads (small sheets) into other cleaning sheets to extended their usefulness.
	Combining Trib-Pads with other backings - like foam or polishing cloth.
	Foot-wear cleaning and polishing.

Blades Small Trib-Blades are low cost stand alone cleaning tools with dispensers incorporated for cleaning small or difficult to reach places (see examples shown in skin-care), mid-size Trib-Tools are designed to attach onto dispensers for cleaning work surfaces, windows etc. Large Trib-Tools may incorporate electro-mechanical drives to create light weight scrubbing tools for walls or floors.

Blade Attachments - provide extra convenience when attached to squeeze bottles, aerosols or pump dispensers by providing the means of rubbing on then scraping off dispensed materials. The blade like shapes can be designed for specific purposes, for example long and this for window cleaning with a long squeegee scraper running along the top of the spine. The blades are stiff along a centre section and become more flexible towards their edge to allow them to follow complex shapes like a bath tub or toilet bowel.

Blade on extensions - mops flips over to provide squeegee scraper.

The photographs below illustrate a typical blade tool for scouring and cleaning. The top left photo. below shows a blade tool with a mild non-woven mildly abrasive scouring material (white) on the under face, a film of TPE covers the upstanding spine to provide good finger grip and a sponge (yellow) on the third face is for swabbing. The bottom right photo shows how the tool folds in half for packaging and how it can be sized to fit within the profile of a typical dispenser bottle, shown here attached to a with a simple rubber band as a promotional presentation. This tool is actually shown with a soft green sponge main rubbing face and a yellow micro face absorbent top face, to illustrate the wide variety of rubbing face coverings. Each of the three rubbing faces can have a different covering..

Typical uses for blade like domestic cleaning tools are:

	Window cleaning.
	Window and door frame cleaning.
	Shower and tile cleaning.
	Lime scale and mould removal from difficult to access places.
	Cleaning floor skirting and decorative moulding.
	Cleaning mud off sports equipment and shoes

This technology is available for license to Brand owners. British Patent granted, PCT pending world-wide. Design registered.

for more information email: info8@tribtech.com

The TribTech name derives from "tribos" - Greek for 'rubbing'. 'TribTech' is a trade name used by Ball Burnishing Machine Tools Ltd. of 12 Brookmans Av. Hatfield, Herts. AL9 7QJ. United Kingdom; Company Reg. No. 1408807, VAT Reg. No. 421 6210 04; a knowledge based company that develops, patents and licenses technology. All rights reserved by Ball Burnishing Machine Tools Ltd. Last modified: May 01, 2008 copyright � 1999/2008. The information and data provided herein should be considered generally representative for the tools and technologies described. In all cases users should carefully evaluate the tools and technologies to determine their suitability for a particular purpose.