Swiffer products have a good reputation among the persons paying much attention to cleanliness in their houses. To clean the floor and trap the dirt from any surface, Swiffer Sweepers can be used with dry and wet refills. Wet mopping cloths provide the user with more opportunities to clean the floor perfectly (“Swiffer Refills” par. 1).
The wet mopping cloths typically have the special scrubbing strips to clean the surface more properly. To understand how wet mopping cloths or refills work to attract the dirt and do not damage any types of surfaces, it is necessary to focus on the materials used in the production of Swiffer wet refills and on their transformations observed during the product life-cycle. The materials used to produce Swiffer wet refills are the non-woven fabric, cleaning agents, and preservatives.
The Non-Woven Fabric
Swiffer wet refills are made from the non-woven fabrics. To discuss the production process in detail, it is necessary to examine the types of fibers used for manufacturing the non-woven fabric and the specifics of the manufacturing process. From this point, the production of the non-woven fabric can be discussed as a rather rapid and inexpensive process which includes three steps.
These important steps are the selection of the fibers which can be used for the production of the wet mopping cloths; the process of laying the chosen type of fibers to make a definite type of the web; and the final step is the process of bonding the web in order to produce the final variant of the non-woven strong fabric with good absorbing qualities (“P&G: Swiffer”; Singh 110).
During the first stage of the production process, rayon (viscose) is manufactured as the cellulose fiber typically used for producing the non-woven fabrics. Rayon is made from the wood pulp. As a result, these raw materials can be discussed as renewable ones. The main advantages of these fibers are their distinctive absorbency and strength. Nevertheless, these fibers also contribute to the product’s softness (“Schematic Diagram of Hydroentanglement Process” par. 1-3).
Cellulosic fibers are the best choice to produce the non-woven fabric used to make refills. These fibers are preferable because they are hydrophilic and even chemically stable because the next stage after producing the non-woven fabric is the use of chemicals as the cleaning agents to make the fabric wet and appropriate for cleaning different types of surfaces and floors (Rupp par. 2-9). From this point, the structure of such cellulosic fibers as rayon is effective to attract water molecules to keep the cloth wet to attract more dirt.
The next important stage is the production of non-woven fabrics with the help of spunlace technologies. The non-woven fabrics are used for manufacturing wet mopping cloths because this material is good to absorb water and dirt. As a result, the strong web of fibers is formed with the help of the spun lace technology, which differs from the traditional weaving technologies. Spunlace or the hydroentangled fabric is made with the help of forcing jets of the water to make the web (Rupp par. 2-12).
These jets are usually under the high pressure, and they are used to hit the web from two sides to make it strong and flexible (“Schematic Diagram of Hydroentanglement Process” par. 1-2). The computer is used to control the quality of the made fabric to balance the characteristics needed to absorb the dirt while being used as the wet mopping cloth.
Swiffer refers to the specific ways to bond the fibers together to receive the strong non-woven fabric (“P&G: Swiffer”). High-speed jets of water are used to entangle the fibers, and these fibers become forming a web. This method is typical for the spun lace technology.
The entanglement with the help of the water jets can be discussed as the additional bonding to make the fabric strong and to preserve its softness. The fabric made as a result of using the spun lace technology is soft and breathable to absorb the dirt during cleaning the surfaces with the help of Swiffer wet mopping cloths (“P&G: Swiffer”).
The systems used to make the spun lace non-woven fabric can be discussed as based on the principles of the spun-laid technology, but the machines work with a focus on using the water jets, and these machines are regularly designed for pressures up to 60 MPa about different types of webs. The standard process referring to the spun lace technology is described the following way: the “impinging of the water jets on the web causes the entanglement of fibers.
The jets exhaust most of the kinetic energy primarily in rearranging fibers within the web and, secondly, in rebounding against the substrates, dissipating energy to the fibers” (“Schematic Diagram of Hydroentanglement Process” par. 3; Rupp par. 5). Furthermore, the vacuum within the roll “removes used water from the product, preventing flooding of the product and reduction in the effectiveness of the jets to move the fibers and cause entanglement” (“Schematic Diagram of Hydroentanglement Process” par. 3; Rupp par. 5).
In this case, water can be discussed as one important material to produce wet cloths. Thus, this fact makes the system rather powerful to produce high-quality fabric. The manufacturing process related to creating the strong fabric is associated with the use of the specific preliminary treatment of the webs meaning the focus on the preliminary moistening and bonding. In this case, the water jets of low pressure are predominantly used for the preliminary treatment.
When all the stages of the production process are completed, the fabric is treated with specific substances known as cleaning agents to make the refills wet and absorbing. This process can be discussed as the final stage of making the wet mopping cloth for Swiffer Sweepers, and the water is one the main components to combine substances and to make the cloth wet during a long period.
While focusing on the recycling and waste management strategies used by P&G, it is important to note that the non-woven fabric produced to make Swiffer wet mopping cloths can be successfully recycled because P&G, the owner of the Swiffer brand, not only uses the renewable raw materials for manufacturing but also orients to producing the products which cannot be reused, but they can be recycled during the production process (“P&G Sustainability Report 2013” 33).
From this point, the water necessary for spunlace technology can be successfully recycled to be used in the technological process several times.
Much attention is paid to purifying the water to make it appropriate for different stages of the technological process such as the use in the water jets and the use as the component to make the cloth wet. P&G’s goal is to reduce all the possible manufacturing waste, that is why much attention is paid to developing the recycling technologies. According to the company’s sustainability report, “our 2020 goal is to ensure manufacturing waste to landfill is less than 0.5% of input materials” (“P&G Sustainability Report 2013” 34).
Furthermore, it is stated in the report that in FY12/13, “we reduced manufacturing waste to 0.65% of input materials, meaning 99.35% of all input materials were beneficially used in products or via recycling, reuse, or energy conversion of waste materials” (“P&G Sustainability Report 2013” 34). As a result, to produce the wet mopping cloths, the company uses renewable materials which can be easily recycled.
The Cleaning Agents
To make the mopping cloths or refills used for Swiffer Sweepers wet and cleaning, it is necessary to treat the fabric with the help of certain substances which are used as surfactants and antibacterial agents (“P&G: Swiffer”).
Butoxypropanol is the chemical substance which is used to remove different types of soils from the surface. Furthermore, this substance is ‘green’ that is why the products treated with butoxy propanol can be reused and recycled during the technological process with affecting the environments of the people’s health negatively (Ash and Ash 645).
Alkyl polyglycosides are substances usually derived from glucose; that is why the whole process of receiving the substance is rather complex. P&G uses alkyl polyglycosides received from renewable resources (“P&G: Swiffer”).
Alkyl polyglycosides are the results of the synthesis of alcohols and glycoses under the impact of the temperature. Thus, alkyl polyglycosides are used to make wet mopping cloths more effective because they can interact with the anionic surfactants, they are characterized by the low skin irritation potential, they are eco-friendly and derived from the renewable resources (Holmberg 76).
The next important component is the polyoxyethylene castor oil, which is a good wetting and dispersing agent used in wet mopping cloths to preserve their wetness qualities. The polyoxyethylene castor oil is usually made from trihydroxystearate esters of ethoxylated glycerol to be dispersible in water to contribute to the effective cleaning (Ash and Ash 816). Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate is used in the production process to make household cleaners more effective because of the good surfactant qualities (Holmberg 22).
The discussed surfactants are the part of the wet mopping cloths formulation because their role is to reduce the surface tension to contribute to the easiest way of removing definite soils from the surface. Surfactants can form micelles in combination with the water and clean the surface properly (“P&G: Swiffer”). The presented substances are added to the product during the final stages of the production process to increase the qualities of the fabric about absorbing and dissolving dirt.
Preservatives
To make the wet refills antibacterial, the company uses methylisothiazolinone which belongs to the group of isothiazolinones. The substance is made in the laboratory to treat the wet mopping cloths to avoid the worsening of the fabrics’ qualities and negative effects on the people’s health. This substance is discussed as the ‘green’ chemical that is why the fabrics treated with it can be successfully recycled as part of the company’s production cycle (Ash and Ash 784).
Preservatives are necessary to avoid the spread of different micro-organisms in the wet product such as Swiffer wet mopping cloths or refills used for cleaning the surface. The preservatives used during the production process are discussed as eco-friendly, and these products can be recycled without affecting the ecological situation and people’s health negatively.
From this point, Swiffer wet refills or mopping cloths can be discussed as the eco-friendly products manufactured as a result of the properly organized technological process. As a result, Swiffer wet refills can be discussed as appropriate to be used in different environments without causing allergies or dermatitis (“P&G: Swiffer”).
Conclusion
Having examined the aspects of the product life cycle, it is possible to note that Swiffer wet refills are made from the non-woven fabric based on the rayon fibers deprived of the wood pulp. At the final stage of the production process, the manufactured mopping cloths are treated with the help of water and chemicals such as surfactants and preservatives to make the refills wet and absorbing, with the high cleaning properties.
The whole process of production is controlled by P&G, and it is based on using the renewable raw materials while contributing to the company’s strategy to reduce waste and to focus on reusing and recycling technologies and approaches.
Thus, the whole life-cycle of Swiffer wet mopping cloths used for Swiffer Sweepers includes such stages as the acquisition of the material with references to choosing the viscose fibers; the manufacturing process based on the spun lace technologies; the process of the products’ treating with chemicals; the process of recycling the wastes to contribute to the ideas of renewability and sustainability.
Works Cited
Ash, Michael, and Irene Ash. Handbook of Green Chemicals. USA: Synapse Info Resources, 2004. Print.
Holmberg, Krister. Novel Surfactants: Preparation Applications and Biodegradability. USA: CRC Press, 2003. Print.
P&G Sustainability Report 2013. 2014. Web.
P&G: Swiffer. 2014. Web.
Rupp, Jurg. Spunlaced Or Hydroentangled Nonwovens. 2008. Web.
Schematic Diagram of Hydroentanglement Process. Web.
Singh, Bharat. Industrial Crops and Uses. USA: CABI, 2010. Print.
Swiffer Refills. 2014. Web.