Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for
aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
,
hygienic,
functional
Functional may refer to:
* Movements in architecture:
** Functionalism (architecture)
** Form follows function
* Functional group, combination of atoms within molecules
* Medical conditions without currently visible organic basis:
** Functional sy ...
,
environmental, or safety purposes. Cleaning occurs in many different contexts, and uses many different methods. Several occupations are devoted to cleaning.
Contexts
Cleaning occurs in various commercial, domestic, personal, and environmental contexts, which differ in scale and requirements.
*
Commercial cleaning, in business or other commercial settings
**
Terminal cleaning, in healthcare settings
*
Environmental remediation
Environmental remediation deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment, or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to an array of regulatory requirements, and may al ...
, the removal of pollution or contaminants from the natural environment
*
Housekeeping, including
spring cleaning
Spring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime. The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter. In many cultures, annual cleaning occurs at the end of the year, which may b ...
*
Hygiene, including
personal grooming
Methods
Cleaning is broadly achieved through mechanical action and/or
solvent action; many methods rely on both processes.
*
Washing, usually done with water and often some kind of
soap or
detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more ...
**
Pressure washing, using a high-pressure stream of water
**
Wet cleaning, methods of professional laundering that avoid the use of chemical solvents
*
Abrasive blasting
Sandblasting, sometimes known as abrasive blasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove su ...
, typically used to remove bulk material from a surface, may be used to remove contaminants as well
*
Acoustic cleaning, the use of
sound wave
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
s to shake particulates loose from surfaces
**
Ultrasonic cleaning, using ultrasound, usually from 20–400 kHz
**
Megasonic cleaning, a gentler mechanism than ultrasonic cleaning, used in
wafer,
medical implant
An implant is a medical device manufactured to replace a missing biological structure, support a damaged biological structure, or enhance an existing biological structure. Medical implants are man-made devices, in contrast to a transplant, whi ...
, and industrial part cleaning
*
Carbon dioxide cleaning, a family of methods for parts cleaning and sterilization using
carbon dioxide in its various phases
*
Dry cleaning of clothing and textiles, using a chemical solvent other than water
*
Flame cleaning of structural steel, with an
oxyacetylene flame
*
Green cleaning, using environmentally friendly methods and products
*
Plasma cleaning, using energetic
plasma
Plasma or plasm may refer to:
Science
* Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter
* Plasma (mineral), a green translucent silica mineral
* Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics
Biology
* Blood pla ...
or dielectric barrier
discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
plasma created from various gases
*
Sputter cleaning
In physics, sputtering is a phenomenon in which microscopic particles of a solid material are ejected from its surface, after the material is itself bombarded by energetic particles of a plasma or gas. It occurs naturally in outer space, and can ...
, performed in a vacuum by using physical
sputtering of the surface
*
Steam cleaning, in both domestic and industrial contexts
*
Thermal cleaning, in industrial settings, involving
pyrolysis and
oxidation
*
Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, which destroys
microorganisms; used extensively in the medical and food industries
Cleaning by item
Some items and materials require specialized cleaning techniques, due to their shape, size, location, or the material properties of the object and contaminants.
Buildings and infrastructure
*
Beach cleaning
Beach cleaning or clean-up is the process of removing solid litter, dense chemicals, and organic debris deposited on a beach or coastline by the tide, local visitors, or tourists. Humans pollute beaches with materials such as plastic bottles and ...
*
Carpet cleaning
*
Chimney cleaning
*
Crime scene cleanup
*
Exterior cleaning
Exterior cleaning is the process of cleaning a building's exterior part including the restoration of hygiene or removal of litter and/or dirt on the outside of the building. It is not to be confused with interior cleaning, or the act of cleaning ...
*
Floor cleaning
*
Graffiti removal
*
Roof cleaning
Roof cleaning is the process of removing algae, mold, mildew, lichen and moss from roofs. Also cleaning oxidation on metal roofs. Cleaning can extend the duration of a roof's ability to function. Algae and other types of build-up often form on t ...
*
Silo cleaning {{unreferenced, date=December 2007
Silo cleaning is a process to maximize the efficiency of storage silos that hold bulk powders or granules. In silos, material is fed through the top and removed from the bottom. Typical silo applications include ...
*
Street cleaning
A street sweeper or street cleaner may refer to a person's occupation or to a machine that cleans streets.
Street sweepers have been employed in cities as "sanitation workers" since sanitation and waste removal became a priority. A stre ...
Other items
*
Coin cleaning
*
Conservation and restoration of cultural property, which often involves careful cleaning
*
Jewellery cleaning Jewelry cleaning is the practice of removing dirt or tarnish from jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and ...
*
Laundry
Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...
, the washing of clothes and other textiles
*
Parts cleaning, in industry
*
Pot washing
Pot washing is the process of cleaning low to heavily baked-on items off of restaurant kitchen food equipment, including pots, pans, trays, tubs and more.
Pot washing is often a heavy sector in restaurants and kitchens, ergonomically a burden and ...
, in food service
*
Teeth cleaning
*
Tube cleaning
Tube cleaning describes the activity of, or device for, the cleaning and maintenance of fouled tubes.
The need for cleaning arises because the medium that is transported through the tubes may cause deposits and finally even obstructions. In sys ...
Occupations involving cleaning
Several occupations involve cleaning, either in their entirety or among other duties.
*
Cleaner
*
Housekeeper (domestic worker)
*
Janitor
*
Maid
A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...
See also
General
*
Cleaning (disambiguation)
Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment.
Cleaning may also refer to:
Digital technology
* Data cleansing or data cleaning, the process of detect ...
, for other uses of the term
*
Cleanliness, an abstract concept for a state that may be achieved by cleaning
*
Cleaning agent, substances used in cleaning
*
Contamination control, of which cleaning is a part
Biology and health
*
Cleaning symbiosis
Cleaning symbiosis is a mutually beneficial association between individuals of two species, where one (the cleaner) removes and eats parasites and other materials from the surface of the other (the client). Cleaning symbiosis is well-known amon ...
, among living creatures
*
Hygiene, a set of practices performed for the preservation of health
*
Sanitation, techniques to protect human health by providing a clean environment
*
Sterilization (microbiology)
Sterilization refers to any process that removes, kills, or deactivates all forms of life (particularly microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, spores, and unicellular eukaryotic organisms) and other biological agents such as prions present in or ...
, the elimination or deactivation of biological agents
Organizing
*
Professional organizing
Professional organizing emerged as an industry in 1984 within Los Angeles. A professional organizer assists individuals and businesses to improve their organizing systems and process.
This industry has been popularized by a number of television p ...
, improvement of organizing systems and processes
*
Sorting
Sorting refers to ordering data in an increasing or decreasing manner according to some linear relationship among the data items.
# ordering: arranging items in a sequence ordered by some criterion;
# categorizing: grouping items with similar pro ...
, any process of arranging items systematically
Technologies
*
Cleanroom, a room with low levels of particulates, used in specialized manufacturing or research
*
Automated pool cleaner
*
Central vacuum cleaner
A central vacuum cleaner (also known as built-in or ducted) is a type of vacuum cleaner appliance, installed into a building as a semi-permanent fixture. Central vacuum systems are designed to remove dirt and debris from homes and buildings, sen ...
*
Robotic vacuum cleaner
*
Self-cleaning floor
*
Self-cleaning glass Self-cleaning glass is a specific type of glass with a surface that keeps itself free of dirt and grime.
The field of self-cleaning coatings on glass is divided into two categories: hydrophobic and hydrophilic.
These two types of coating both clea ...
*
Self-cleaning oven
Other contexts
*
Cleaning event, in which solar panels on planetary rovers are cleaned by wind
*
Cleaning validation Cleaning validation is the methodology used to assure that a cleaning process removes chemical and microbial residues of the active, inactive or detergent ingredients of the product manufactured in a piece of equipment, the cleaning aids utilized i ...
, used to assure that manufacturing residues are removed
{{Authority control
Broad-concept articles