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When you are mopping, whether it be your house or at your place of work, have you ever noticed how dirty the water becomes? At what point do you stop cleaning and just start spreading soil around? Spreading soil around is not the same as cleaning and in today’s society cleaning has never been more important. With COVID-19 still spreading, making sure you disinfect your surfaces is a top priority! Make sure, whether it is your home or your company, you are not being a soil spreader. A soil spreader is someone in the cleaning industry either using, or managing someone using, outdated cleaning tools or products that do not clean but spread soil from one area to another. I sat down with Par Ricketts, V.P. of Business Development at Nuance Solutions, to talk about his solution to this problem.

Ricketts has been in the cleaning industry for over 35 years. He started off by joining a cleaning crew on weekends. This crew would strip and recoat small IGA grocery stores in Michigan. He was given the task of doodle bugging and or scraping the built-up floor finish under the grocery aisle shelving. After every aisle was properly stripped it was time to rinse the floor. To clean these areas, he used the equipment that spreads soil instead of cleaning. Examples of referenced tools are single cavity mop buckets, cotton mops, small buckets for cleaning tables or other flat surfaces, and feather and/or polywool dusters. He quickly learned a proper figure 8 motion with the mop and rinsed the first aisle. However, when he looked down into the bucket, he saw a very cloudy murky liquid. When I asked Ricketts what he did once he saw that the water went bad, he said that “I immediately called my supervisor over to ask him if I needed to change my water. He peeked in the bucket and quickly said there was no need to change the water. After continuing to and completing the 2nd aisle, I looked in the bucket and it was twice as murky. I again waved the supervisor over, he inspected my bucket and again told me to continue. It didn’t seem correct, but certainly my supervisor knew better than I and that is when I became a soil spreader.” Ricketts knew there had to be a better way to clean and that is how he came up with a program to become a “Recovering Soil Spreader”.

To be a Recovering Soil Spreader means you recognize the importance of cleaning and disinfecting and have totally eliminated the use of traditional tools and methods that do not provide positive results. There is no part way or once in a while, recovery is a full and complete commitment. This summer Ricketts is celebrating 10 years as a Recovering Soil Spreader. To fix the soil spreading problem, Ricketts realized that there is a list of choices in hand mopping, which combine microfiber technology and ergonomic equipment, thereby providing different paths to “recovery.” There are microfiber flat mops, pre-treat systems, there are divided buckets with microfiber flat or tube mops, and double bucket systems paired with microfiber tube mops. Variables such as size of area, degree of soil load, or the ability to machine launder may dictate one system over another. All 3 however share one trait, they actually clean rather than spread soil. This is what led to his theme of becoming a recovering soil spreader.

Ricketts decided to model the meetings of becoming a “recovering soil spreader” after the 12-step recovery meetings. This idea came to Ricketts while looking for a way to make the seminars and training sessions more interesting and interactive. “I have nothing but respect for the foundation and success of organizations who use that as the path towards dramatic change.” Ricketts states. People seem to appreciate the lighthearted approach and have fun with it, including admitting when they or their facility are “still in denial.” He educates and discusses the different paths to recovery. Instead of someone dictating change without educating or allowing personal input, this approach is much more effective at teaching and encourages personal opinion and input when choosing the proper path/system.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of custodians and or housekeepers in this industry still spread soil. Industry data suggests up to 90% still use a single cavity mop bucket and cotton string mop for at least some of their facility’s hand mopping needs. There are many reasons for the low numbers and slow transition to alternative methods of cleaning. At the top of the list is “change.” People are naturally averse to any change and that includes the methods and tools used in cleaning.
Another reason that there is a slow transition to alternative methods is that there is a perception that newer methods are too expensive or cost prohibitive. In most cases many of the newer tools and products are of greater value and can even lower costs, but the perception remains, nonetheless.

People are also uninformed or lack the proper education on alternatives and which ones are best suited for their specific needs. They are too busy to look into new methods or do research of their own to see why they need to become a recovering soil spreader. Especially, salespeople, purchasers, and facility directors that are juggling too many tasks on a daily basis and feel like it’s much easier to just keep doing what they’ve always done, despite the poor results.
It is 2021 and sadly, this industry still predominately uses the single cavity mop bucket with cotton string mop to hand mop floors. If you don’t believe the data or think this is an exaggeration, just look around. Ricketts believes that this is a disgrace, especially given all the more effective alternatives available. He hopes to “continue to draw attention to this very basic industry flaw.” We are all more sensitive to and aware of the importance of better cleaning and disinfecting processes, post pandemic. The time has never been better to start your own recovery!

Here are some frequently asked questions Par receives about his recovery.

Q: What or Who is a Soil Spreader?
A: A soil spreader is someone in the cleaning industry either using or managing someone using outdated cleaning tools or products, that do not clean but in fact, spread soil from one area to another. Examples of referenced tools are single cavity mop buckets, cotton mops, small buckets for cleaning tables or other flat surfaces and feather and/or polywool dusters.

Q: What is a “Recovering Soil Spreader”?
A: To be a Recovering Soil Spreader means you recognize the importance of cleaning and disinfecting and have eliminated the use of traditional tools and methods that do not provide positive results. There is no part way or once in a while, recovery is a full and complete commitment.

Q: How long have you been a Recovering Soil Spreader and what is your history?
A: This summer I am celebrating 10 years as a Recovering Soil Spreader. That said, I spent over 25 years in this industry as an active soil spreader. I remember clearly the first time I became a soil spreader. To earn extra money, I joined a cleaning crew on weekends. This crew would strip and recoat small IGA grocery stores in Michigan. My first job with this crew was in a store in the thumb area of Michigan. Being the “rookie,” I was given the task of doodle bugging and or scraping the built-up floor finish under the grocery aisle shelving. After every aisle was properly stripped it was time to rinse the floor. I must have impressed someone because they entrusted the rookie to rinse mop the first aisles. I quickly learned a proper figure 8 motion with the mop and rinsed the first aisle. When I looked down into the bucket I saw a very cloudy murky liquid. I immediately called my supervisor over to ask him if I needed to change my water. He peeked in the bucket and quickly said there was no need to change the water. After continuing to and completing the 2nd aisle, I looked in the bucket and it was twice as murky. I again waved the supervisor over, he inspected my bucket and again told me to continue. It did not seem correct but certainly my supervisor knew better than I and that is when I became a soil spreader.

Q: Are there that many Soil Spreaders in our industry?
A: Sadly, the vast majority of custodians and or housekeepers in our industry still spread soil. Industry data suggests up to 90% still use a singe cavity mop bucket and cotton string mop for at least some of their facility’s hand mopping needs.

Q: Why is the number of Soil Spreaders in the industry still so high?
A: There are many reasons for the low numbers and slow transition to alternative methods of cleaning. At the top of the list is “change.” People are naturally averse to any change and that includes the methods and tools used in cleaning. Secondly, there is a perception that newer methods are too expensive or cost prohibitive. In most cases many of the newer tools and products are of greater value and can even lower costs, but the perception remains, nonetheless. Next, people are uninformed or lack the proper education on alternatives and which ones are best suited for their specific needs. Finally, people are too busy! Salespeople, purchasers, facility directors are juggling too many tasks on a daily basis and therefore its much easier to just keep doing what they’ve always done, despite the poor results.

Q: Is there one best alternative to the single cavity mop bucket and string cotton mop?
A: There are a list of choices in hand mopping which combine microfiber technology and ergonomic equipment thereby providing different paths to “recovery.” There are microfiber flat mop pre-treat systems, there are divided buckets with microfiber flat or tube mops and double bucket systems paired with microfiber tube mops. Variables such as size of area, degree of soil load, ability to machine launder may dictate one system over another. All 3 however share one trait, they actually clean rather than spread soil.

Q: What is the origin of the Soil Spreader Recovery meetings and theme?
A: I was looking for a way to make the seminars and training sessions more interesting and interactive and the idea came to me to model the meetings after a 12-step recovery meeting. I have nothing but respect for the foundation and success of organizations who use that as the path towards dramatic change. People seem to appreciate the light-hearted approach and have fun with it, including admitting when they or their staff are “still in denial.” We educate and discuss together the different paths to recovery. Instead of someone dictating change without educating or allowing personal input, this approach is much more effective at teaching and encourages personal opinion and input when choosing the proper path/system.

Q: What are you trying to accomplish with the Recovery Meetings and theme moving forward?
A: It is 2021 and sadly, our industry still predominately uses the single cavity mop bucket with cotton string mop to hand mop floors. If you don’t believe the data or think this is an exaggeration, just look around. I believe this is a disgrace, especially given more effective alternatives available. In my small way, I hope to continue to draw attention to this very basic industry flaw. We are all more sensitive to and aware of the importance of better cleaning and disinfecting processes, post pandemic. The time has never been better to start your own recovery!

Q: Any additional thoughts or comments?
A: I will simply end with the Soil Spreader’s Serenity Prayer
Higher power, grant me the serenity, to accept the soil I have spread in my past,
The courage to explore better alternatives to cleaning
And the wisdom to make a change 😊