Zoom Through Cleaning With a New Vacuum Quiz

Answer: broom

tom(B ROOM)

The use of brooms for cleaning dates back to ancient times. An early type of broom, called the besom broom, was made by tying straw, herbs, or twigs to a long handle often made out of a tree branch. Brooms were sometimes used to ward off evil spirits, and early Celtics associated them with faeries. By the mid-1400s, brooms were associated with witches, both male and female.

Answer: soap

al(SO AP)prehend

Soap has been in use for thousands of years, since the times of the ancient Babylonians who first mastered the art of soap making. Soap is an excellent tool for cleaning because its molecules have both water-soluble (polar) and non-water-soluble (non-polar) ends. This means that soap can be used to clean up oils and grease, which are not readily cleaned up by water alone.

Answer: towel

bes(TOW EL)ves

There are many different types of towels today: beach towels, bath towels, hand towels, dish towels, paper towels. Most non-paper towels are made of cotton or cotton-polyester blends that are woven together in various patterns. Invention of the towel is often linked back to Turkey and some of the most plush towels are made of Egyptian cotton. With the sustainability movement in recent times, people are urged more and more to stop using paper towels, and to use washable dish and hand towels instead.

Answer: polish

Na(POLI, SH)ips

There are different types of polish used in household cleaning in modern times, including furniture polish, used for dusting, and silver polish that is necessary to remove tarnish so that silver plates and dishes sparkle and shine. Some polishes, like those used for dusting purposes, are sprays, while others, like those used for polishing silver, can be liquids or creams.

Answer: detergent

to (DETER GENT)lemen

Detergents are similar to soaps, but they do not react with salts in hard water and are water-soluble. They are commonly used in dishwashers (dish detergents) and in washing machines (laundry detergents). Laundry detergents are usually scented to give clothes a pleasant smell after washing. Laundry detergents are also used in combination with bleaches to keep clothes clean.

Answer: gloves

prince-turned-fro(G LOVES) most

There are a variety of types of gloves in use in the world today, some dating back hundreds of years. Gloves used for household cleaning are often reusable/washable and sometimes have an inside lining to make them more comfortable for the user to wear. With growing populations of people with latex allergies, vinyl and nitrile gloves are becoming more popular, but in some cases are not so effective as latex at protecting the user from harmful agents.

Answer: bleach

a(BLE ACH)illes

Bleaches are often used as disinfectants and for whitening clothes. According to the Encyclopędia Britannica, in 1774, a Swedish chemist named Karl Scheele discovered chlorine, and in 1785, a French chemist named Claude Berthollet discovered its bleaching power. Until the discovery of chlorine's bleaching power, beaching was done mainly by sunlight. Today, chlorine is one of the most common chemicals used as a bleach.

Answer: clean

Mar(C LEANED) out

According to Merriam-Webster, "clean" as an adjective means "free from dirt or pollution" or "free from contamination or disease", as a noun it means "habitually neat", as an adverb it means "so as to clean", and as a verb it means "to remove dirt, marks, etc." or "to make neat and orderly". The earliest use of the word "clean" dates to before the 12th century A.D. "Clean" is derived from Middle and Old English and is related to an Old High German word meaning delicate, or dainty.

Answer: washer

Io(WA, SHE R)emembered

Techniques for washing clothes have evolved over the years, from washing in rivers and lakes, to using scrub boards (invented in 1797), to automated electric washing machines. In 1851, James King patented a new type of washing machine, one with a drum, and today washing machines are being designed to use less water, becoming more economical - better for the environment and more cost effective.

Answer: baking soda

Sim(BA KING SO DA)rkness

Baking soda is a popular cleaning material because it is not toxic, it is inexpensive, and it can be used for a variety of cleaning purposes. TheNewHomemaker.Com lists "27 Ways to Clean with Baking Soda" from putting it in your fridge to remove unpleasant odors (something I do myself - it really works!) to cleaning silver, to mixing it with laundry detergent to keep clothes smelling fresh.