Industrial wiping has evolved considerably over the past 50
years or so. Daily contact with grease and grime is gradually
being replaced with increased automation, while a growing
concern for health and safety has led to a more widespread
use of disposables. SCA’s Amelia Baker looks at the
changing face of industrial wiping

Industry has changed dramatically over
the past half century – and industrial
cleaning has changed with it. Rags are no
longer considered to be the answer for many
industrial cleaning processes, and disposable
wipers have become an increasingly popular
alternative. So why has this occurred?
Rags were the standard industrial wiper in
the 1950s and 1960s when textiles in general
were the traditional choice, both at work and
at home. Babies were clothed in terry
towelling nappies; dishcloths were widely
used in kitchens and everyone carried a
cotton handkerchief in their pocket.

The ‘make do and mend’ ethos of the
post-war years made it natural to turn old
clothes into rags, and the cotton clothing that
was widely available at the time was ideal for
use as strong, absorbent cloths.

However during the 1970s, an increasing
number of synthetic materials began to be
used for clothing – and rags made from nylon
and polyester were found to be much less
absorbent than their cotton counterparts. At
the same time a growing awareness of health
and hygiene put rags under new scrutiny.

People were becoming concerned about
the health implications of leaving solventsoaked
rags lying around the workplace, for
example. Some solvents commonly used for
industrial cleaning also began to be linked
with conditions such as dermatitis and
respiratory diseases.

Against this background came the first
disposable wipers. Made from paper and
dispensed from a long roll, these were
convenient because the roll could be carried
around and a clean length of paper could be
torn off when needed. However, paper
wipers were no match for textiles in terms
of strength. And the loose wiping roll left
on worktops and benches was also
vulnerable to contaminants in the
atmosphere such as oil, grease and grime.

So disposable manufacturers began
working on producing non-woven products
that were stronger than paper wipers and
could be used for tough applications. They
also began coming up with dispensing
systems – such as SCA’s Tork Performance
range – which would keep the wipers clean
and protected before use.

While health and safety plus the
development of increasingly strong and
absorbent wipers were helping to change the
face of industrial cleaning, industry itself was
changing. A growing reliance on automation
meant that fewer people were dirtying their
hands or work surfaces, and ‘dirty’ industries
were coming under increasing pressure to
clean up their acts.

Automotive workshops began to offer
customer-viewing areas where staff were
expected to show a clean and professional
environment. At the same time an increasing
number of industries began demanding
specialist wipers for the cleaning of sensitive
electronic equipment.

The emergence of systems such as Best
Practice meant that industrial managers
began to prefer to use clean disposable
wipers in smart, functional dispensers such
as the Tork Performance range, since these
create a better impression than a collection
of soiled rags lying around the workplace.

One important factor determining the
choice of wipers over the years has been that of
price. Industrial buyers are constantly seeking
the lowest-cost wiper for the task in hand.

However, it is not the simple question of
price that is driving the wiper market today,
but the more complex issue of cost in use.

Wipers have to provide the best quality at the
best price, and they also have to be suitable
for the task in hand. For instance, processcritical
applications such as cleaning oily
components or polishing surfaces need
wipers that have been expressly made for this
purpose. So manufacturers are increasingly
coming up with specialist wipers that are
highly efficient at the wiping task for which
they were intended.

Over the years, industrial wipers have had
an important part to play in improving
health, safety, cleanliness and efficiency in
factories and workshops. They have also
become integral to the smooth running of a
manufacturing site.

All industries change with the times, and
suppliers to those industries must adapt at
the same pace. Wiper manufacturers are
constantly formulating products to cover an
increasingly wide range of tasks and this they
will continue to do – whatever the trends
may be in the future.