Surface roughness
At the scale that matters, most surfaces are landscapes. Roughness multiplies contact area, hides soil from a flat cloth, and turns wiping into redistribution.
In detail
A surface that feels smooth to a fingertip is rarely smooth at the scale a soil particle occupies. Roughness does three separate things to cleaning and they compound. It increases the true contact area between deposit and substrate, so adhesion rises. It provides mechanical keying — pits and scratches that a soft deposit flows into and sets within. And it shelters soil from anything flat: a cloth spans the peaks and never reaches the valleys, which is why a wiped textured tile looks clean while wet and grey once dry. That is the whole argument for a brush over a cloth on grout, moulded appliance seams, textured shower trays and trainer soles. Roughness is also something cleaning creates. Every abrasive pass leaves a finer version of the same landscape, which is why a surface that has been scoured holds soil faster afterwards than it did before, and why a dulled patch on a bath or a uPVC frame becomes the dirtiest part of it within months. The conservation guidance makes the same point from the material side: highly porous stones entrap dust that is then difficult to remove, and soft stones are easily scratched by improper dusting.
Why
- Label residue is explained by Surface roughness
- Mould is explained by Surface roughness
- Dust is explained by Surface roughness
- Moss and lichen is explained by Surface roughness
- Grout is explained by Surface roughness
- Unglazed ceramic tile is explained by Surface roughness
- Sandstone is explained by Surface roughness
- Travertine is explained by Surface roughness
Sources for this page
Sources
Conserve O Gram 15/2: Dusting Guidelines for Stone Objects and Interior Architectural Features
National Park Service, US Department of the Interior · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That highly porous stones entrap dust that will be difficult to remove, and that soft stones can be easily scratched by improper dusting procedures. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The sections headed What is Dust?, Why Dust? and Preventive Maintenance. Supports the claim as stated. Upgrades the dust record from a description to a composition, and supplies the attract-and-hold-moisture link that connects dust to the mould records.
PVC-U Window & Door Systems: Handling, Installation, Maintenance and Care Guide
The VEKA UK Group (VEKA and Halo profile systems), 2014 · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That abrasive cleaners must not be used on uPVC because they damage the surface permanently. (cleaninghq's interpretation of what it says)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Section 7.4 Cleaning (7.4.1 PVC-U Frames, 7.4.2 Glass, 7.4.3 Hardware), section 7.6 Maintenance, and section 5.0 Protection. Supports a wider statement — our claim was widened. The demand batch recorded a consumer claim that cream cleaners ruin uPVC over time. The manufacturer's position is narrower and more useful: a NON-ABRASIVE cream cleaner is permitted for stains soapy water will not shift, sparingly, because excess affects the gloss — and is not permitted at all on woodgrain foils. The catalogue models the permission with its conditions rather than either the folk prohibition or a blanket clearance. Hardware being a dry-duster-and-no-water surface was not anticipated at all.
Last reviewed by a person on .