Tools and equipment
The half of cleaning nobody writes about, and the half that does most of the damage.
What this area turns on
Two care documents from unrelated industries — a contract furniture manufacturer and the leather institute — independently prohibit the same vacuum attachment, because suction lifts and agitation abrades and the second is not a stronger version of the first. The glass trade blames scratching on grit trapped under the tool rather than on the cleaner in the bottle. And the carpet institute recommends a mist sprayer for one reason: to stop the surface being overwetted. In each case the tool decided the outcome and the product was incidental.
Assessed and found wanting
Widely repeated techniques in this area that the evidence does not support, or supports only in part.
Fabric softener is fine on everything
Does not workTwo manufacturers exclude it outright, for the same reason in different words: it leaves a deposit, and the deposit is the problem.
The records
Vacuum cleaner
EquipmentThe tool that removes what no liquid can, and the one whose attachment choice does more damage than any cleaning product on soft furnishings.
Upholstery attachment
EquipmentThe vacuum head two separate manufacturers name by function rather than by brand. Suction without agitation, which is the only safe combination on a napped surface.
Microfibre cloth
EquipmentSplit synthetic fibres with a very large surface area, which lift and trap soil mechanically — often with water alone.
White cotton cloth
EquipmentSpecified by colour in every stain procedure this catalogue has read, and the reason is diagnostic rather than aesthetic.
Microfibre mop
EquipmentA flat head that carries far less water than a string mop, which is the property that makes it the right tool for every floor that must not get wet.
Squeegee
EquipmentA rubber blade that removes water before it can evaporate. It is the difference between a clean window and a window with the map of its own drying on it.
Nylon brush
EquipmentMechanical action delivered into texture that a flat cloth cannot reach. The bristle is softer than most surfaces and harder than several worth protecting.
Non-scratch pad
EquipmentThe middle setting between a cloth and a scourer. It is still an abrasive — 'non-scratch' is a claim about a class of surface, not about all of them.
Steel wool
EquipmentA metal abrasive that scratches most household surfaces and leaves iron particles behind on the rest — which then rust and look like a stain the surface has produced.
Melamine foam
EquipmentNot a sponge and not a cleaner: an extremely fine open abrasive. It removes marks by sanding them, which is why it dulls anything with a finish on it.
Plastic scraper
EquipmentThe tool the trade names for lifting semi-solids, and the reason it is plastic rather than metal is the same on carpet, glass and a non-stick pan.
Spray bottle
EquipmentHow much liquid reaches a surface, and where. The carpet trade specifies a mist sprayer for one reason: to stop the surface being overwetted.
Steam cleaner
EquipmentHeat and moisture applied together, with no chemical at all. Both are the point, and both are what several manufacturers prohibit it for.
Hot-water extraction machine
EquipmentInjects solution into a soft surface and pulls it back out again. The extraction half is what distinguishes it from simply making a carpet wet.
Pressure washer
EquipmentMechanical energy delivered by water alone. It removes what nothing else will and takes the surface with it more often than any other domestic tool.
Dehumidifier
EquipmentNot a cleaning tool at all, and the most effective single purchase against mould — because it treats the cause the spray bottle cannot reach.
Cellulose sponge
EquipmentThe most-handled cleaning tool in a kitchen and the one that holds the most moisture and food. Cleaning it is possible; the evidence stops short of eliminating what is in it.