Squeegee – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Squeegee, sponge, and chalk on a desk.

A floor squeegee or squilgee.

A squeegee, squilgee or sometimes squimjim, is a tool with a flat, smooth rubber blade, used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is used for cleaning and in printing.

The original squilgee was a long-handled, wooden-bladed tool fishermen used to scrape fish blood and scales from their boat deck, and to push water off the deck after it had been washed[citation needed].

The best-known of these tools is probably the hand-held window squeegee, used to remove the cleaning fluid or water from a glass surface. A soapy solution acts as a lubricant and breaks up the dirt, then the squeegee is used to draw the now water-borne dirt off the glass leaving a perfectly clean surface. Some squeegees are backed with a sponge which can soak up soapy water from a bucket for application to a dirty window.

With the development of the skyscraper in the 20th century, a more efficient tool for the cleaning of window exteriors was needed. Professional window washers began using the Chicago squeegee, a bulky tool with two heavy pink rubber blades. Changing the blades required the loosening of twelve separate screws. The modern single-blade window cleaning squeegee was patented by Ettore Steccone in 1936; it was made of lightweight brass with a very flexible and sharp rubber blade.[1] The Ettore Products Co. is still the leader in the squeegee market today.[2] Squeegee kits can include a telescoping pole to extend the washer's reach.

Simple squeegees are made in various shapes for household use, including the cleaning of shower doors, bathroom tile, and garage floors.

The "swivel method", or "fan method" as it is referred to by professionals, uses a series of strokes combined with turns that hold the water away from the leading edge of the squeegee; when the turn is completed in the opposing direction, there is no water and no dirt left isolated. However straight strokes, either horizontally or vertically are normally much more efficient than fanning. If a few spots are missed, a chamois leather cloth works better for touch up than a towel of cloth or paper.

This is caused by the squeegee being angled incorrectly forcing the water under the rubber blade out into the dry area of the glass or from solution being pushed up into the top edge of the window. The squeegee should instead be tilted in the direction that the blade is moving across the glass to force to water into the wet area of the glass.[3]

Another method used by window cleaners is to tap the blade on an already wet area of the glass to remove any excess water on the rubber blade.[4] Alternatively the rubber blade can be dried with a towel, although this method is slower and not practical when using extension poles.

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Squeegee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia