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MOISTURE STUDIES IN THE DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT
Author(s) -
LAKE BARBARA,
HUGHES JANE LLOYD
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of consumer studies and home economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.775
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1470-6431
pISSN - 0309-3891
DOI - 10.1111/j.1470-6431.1980.tb00363.x
Subject(s) - moisture , water repellent , environmental science , water content , significant difference , forensic engineering , architectural engineering , civil engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , geology , engineering , meteorology , geography , materials science , composite material , statistics
Indications from a survey of floor washing practices were used to derive a measurement of the amount of moisture likely to be released into the atmosphere each time a domestic kitchen floor is washed. Three different floors were used, each considered representative in size and shape of contemporary kitchen floors. All were surfaced in vinyl plastic, indicated in the survey to be the overwhelmingly popular flooring material. Three types of implement were selected; a floor cloth, a string mop and a sponge mop, each equally popular in the survey. The obvious association between moisture release and floor area was explored, marking off different measured areas to be washed. This was acknowledged not to represent normal practice in that it eliminated contact with perimeter fitments under which water could be harboured. Instead sufficient operators were enlisted and operations performed to justify averaging results and arriving at a range of values for moisture release from a single representative floor washing operation. Although a six‐fold difference was recorded between the highest and the lowest measurement, there was a clear indication of where the average would fall. This proved to be appreciably lower than estimates published some 30 years ago. Evidence available indicated that this could be largely due to the change from absorbent to water‐repellent floor coverings. Techniques of floor washing could hardly be implicated for the modern sponge mop performed no better than the old‐style string mop and both were eclipsed by the traditional floor cloth in ability to remove water from a washed floor.