Jani-King provides you with the complete glossary to make you a janitorial expert.
Bacteriology
| Word | Bacteriology Definition |
| Antiseptic | A product that will destroy or curb germs, particularly on living tissue. Applied to products with low phenol coefficients. |
| Asepsis | Free from microorganisms. |
| Bacteria | Single cell living organisms that can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. |
| Bacillus | Rod shaped bacterium. |
| Bactericide | Refers to all products that kill bacterium. |
| Bacteriostatic | Product that does not necessarily destroy all infectious bacteria quickly but will retard or prevent their growth or multiplication. For the most complete, fast killing action, a germicide, disinfectant, or bactericide is indicated. |
| Coccus | Round shaped bacterium. |
| Contaminated | Areas or items that are unclean through infectious matter. |
| Cross infection | Infection transmitted between patients infected with different diseases. Hospital acquired. |
| Disinfectant | Agent that temporarily frees a surface from infectious bacteria. The same as “germicide” but disinfectant generally refers to a product employed to kill infectious bacteria on inanimate objects. |
| Fungi | Organisms, such as mold that reproduce by means of spores. |
| Fungicide | A chemical material that destroys fungi. |
| Germ | A microorganism capable of producing disease. |
| Gram negative bacteria | One of two major classifications of bacteria, as deemed by different cell composition. Difference is observable when stained according to the gram stain procedure. Gram Negative will lose the stain and take the color of the counter stain. |
| Gram positive bacteria | One of two major classifications of bacteria, determined by different cell waste and composition. Observable when stained according to the gram stain procedure. Gram Positive will retain the stain. |
| Infection | Invasion by disease causing microorganisms and the reaction of body tissue to their presence, as well as the toxins created by them. |
| Inorganic | Matter derived from non living material. |
| Microorganisms | Living organisms usually only visible through a microscope, such as bacterial (rod shaped) spiral organisms, viruses, molds, spores, and yeast. |
| Mold | Wooly growth produced by fungi. |
| Pathogen | Microorganism that can cause disease. |
| Sanitary | Free from agencies injurious to health. |
| Sanitizer | Product that reduces bacteria counts to safe levels judged by public health requirements. |
| Septic | Produced by pathogenic organisms. |
| Spore | Single cell dormant organism capable of again becoming reproductive; highly resistant to many germicides. |
| Staphylococcus | A “gram positive” bacteria. |
| Sterilization | Killing of all living cells on or in a surface or space. No living bacteria, spore, fungus, virus, yeast or any living matter can be detected in or on a sterile object or space. There is absolute absence of life in any form, dormant or active. |
| Yeasts | Fungi that induces alcoholic fermentation in liquid that contains sugars. |
| Viruses | Organisms that cause such diseases as smallpox and mumps. |
Carpet
| Word | Carpet Definition |
| Anti stat | Chemical compound applied to the carpet, designed to reduce, or eliminate, static electricity. |
| Beater | Special equipment used to remove loose dust or dirt from carpet prior to cleaning. May refer to the beater bar on a vacuum cleaner as an agitation device. |
| Bleeding | A loss or transfer of color from one section of the carpet to another. This usually occurs under hot, wet conditions. |
| Browning | A yellow or brownish discoloration of the carpet’s face. Usually caused by impurities in cellulosic fibers such as cotton and jute, which wick up to face fibers on over wetting. Most often caused by excess alkalinity in the cleaning agent used in hot water extraction cleaning, activated alkaline residue left by previous cleaning efforts, over wetting or a combination of any of these. |
| Circling | Circular streaks left on the carpet after a rotary shampooing because of improper cleaning techniques employed by the operator. |
| Cleaning head | A lightweight tool used during extraction in a back and forth motion (spraying on the backstroke, vacuuming on the forward stroke). Contains spray nozzles, vacuum slot, and solution control valve. Sometimes called a scrub wand. |
| Colorfast | The ability of carpet fibers to hold uniform coloration. |
| Clouding | Usually caused by over wetting. Residue from previous cleanings that is not removed and left too wet will wick up the carpet fiber and cause a cloudy appearance on the surface. Customer complaint may state that carpet looked dirty after it dried. |
| Crocking | Loss of carpet excess color when rubbed in either a wet or dry state. |
| Defoamer | Surface-active agent used in cleaning to reduce foaming created by the cleaning agent. |
| Deodorizer | Specifically formulated to destroy, mask. or modify unpleasant odors in the carpet. |
| Dry rot | Disintegration of carpet backing caused by mildew. |
| Embedded grit | Combination of all the soils that eventually work their way down into the carpet. These are removed during restoration cleaning. |
| Foiled tabs | Paper or plastic squares, usually three (3) inches square to protect damp carpet fibers from damage by furniture legs, rust, etc. |
| Mildew | Fungus growth that can occur on carpet fibers, causing odor and fiber degeneration. |
| Nap finishing brush | Long handled, nylon bristle brush to set carpet pile in one direction. |
| Optical brightener | Optical whiteners or fluorescent whitening agents. Used in cleaning process. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, emit a visible blue white light. |
| Pile distortion | Loss of texture or pattern on the face of the carpet. |
| Pile lay | Direction taken by surface yarn during manufacture. |
| Pile lifter | Heavy duty, reel type vacuum used to loosen embedded soils and raise carpet pile. |
| Pre-spotting | Done prior to overall carpet cleaning to remove isolated stains or pre- treat traffic lane areas for ease of cleaning. |
| Residue | Any material left in carpet pile after cleaning or vacuuming. |
| Rust remover | Chemical applied to yarn surfaces for quick removal of rust or other iron related marks. |
| Shag rake | Rake with plastic tines used to align or lift high pile shag after cleaning to improve appearance. |
| Soil retardant | Agent applied to the carpet to retard or decrease the rate of soiling. |
| Static electricity | Electrical charge accumulated on an object. Charges often and easily transferred from one object to another by direct contact. |
| Synthetic fibers | Most carpet fibers being used today, in contrast to animal or vegetable fibers. |
General Housekeeping
| Word | General Housekeeping Definition |
| Abrasive cleaners | Any cleaning products that are manufactured with granular materials such as finely ground silica, volcanic ash, powder feldspar, and powdered pumice. Abrasive cleaners can be used periodically to renovate badly soiled hard floors and to remove discoloration and rust stains from lavatory porcelain. |
| Acid cleaners | Usually formulated to meet a specific problem. Acid cleaners include: powdered and liquid bowl cleaners to remove lime deposits from commodes and urinals, citric acid solution for damp wiping bronze trim and for non streak washing of stainless steel, as well as buffered phosphoric acid products for cleaning exterior aluminum trim.
Note: Jani-King does not permit the use of acid bowl cleaners. There are a vast variety of acid free bowl cleaners available to get the job done. Avoid the use of acid cleaners.
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| Acoustical | Material that deadens noise and facilitates sound to be heard. |
| Active | A term used for that which tends to enter into a chemical reaction. |
| Aerosol | The means of suspending a colloidal of particles in a gas that can be released as directed. |
| Alkaline cleaner | Balanced powdered cleaners composed of alkaline salts such as trisodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, modified soda, and sodium metasilicate. Besides detergent properties, certain alkaline salts have water softening characteristics and are combined in the cleaning products for that purpose. |
| Ammonia | An alkaline gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen dissolved in water in concentration from 5% to 10%. Some general cleaners are formulated with ammonia. It may also be added in small amounts to soap or detergent solutions to help loosen stains because of its grease cutting and slight bleaching action. |
| Carnauba | A hard wax obtained from the Brazilian palm tree used in the manufacture of floor wax. |
| Chlorine | A disinfectant (germicide) that is corrosive to most metal; a sodium or calcium hypochlorite. |
| Cleanability | The ease with which a surface may be returned to its original condition after application of a cleaning agent. |
| Combustion | The burning (oxidation) that results in heat and flame. |
| Compatible | Means that something is capable of being combined with another material without changing its characteristics. |
| Compound | A substance made from a chemical combination of more than one element. |
| Concentrate | A material that can be made into a solution by adding water or other substances. |
| Conductive | Refers to items that possess the ability to transmit electricity. |
| Debilitated | Feeble or weakened. |
| Deodorant | A product that destroys or covers up an odor or the source of an odor. A germicide performs a deodorizing function when it kills germ causing odors. |
| Dissolve | To mix one material in another, with or without a chemical reaction. |
| Excretia | Waste matter from a living organism such as urine, sweat or feces. |
| Feces | Waste matter of the bowel. |
| Flammable | Capable of setting on fire. Inflammable has the same meaning. |
| Humanics | The science of understanding human nature. |
| Inert | Having no active properties. |
| Inhibitors | A substance that restrains chemical reaction. In regards to cleaning products, inhibitors may restrain attack on metal surfaces or other surfaces but do not restrain attack on soil. |
| Insoluble | Not capable of being dissolved in a liquid. |
| Isolation | Separation from contact with others having a communicable disease. Placed in separate room; requires special treatment and cleaning techniques. |
| Mitre | The function of two bodies or sides at an equally divided angle such as a top sheet at the foot of the bed or the corner of a picture frame. |
| Neutralize | To destroy the active properties of an alkali or acid. |
| OHM | A unit of measure of electrical resistance. |
| Oxidation | The process of combining oxygen with another substance. |
| Pick | The cut or uncut loops which make the surface of certain fabrics, including carpeting. |
| Ply | A web, layer, fold, or thickness as in carpet or cloth; generally the number of fibers twisted together. |
| Residual | That which is left at the end of a process. |
| Resilient | Having the ability to return to the original position or shape. |
| Soluble | Capable of being dissolved in a liquid. |
| Solution | A non-settling mixture of two or more ingredients. |
| Solvent cleaner | Sometimes called emulsion cleaners. Products manufactured from hydrocarbons, emulsifiers, and wetting agents. They include, among other basic chemicals, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethylene, methylene, chloride, kerosene. Solvent cleaners are used widely for general degreasing and a number of specific purposes, such as cleaning floors and driveways stained with lubricants. |
| Spontaneous combustion | Self-ignition of a substance through chemical action. |
| Stability | Degree that a mixed product will remain stable without separation of ingredients. |
| Surfactant | Word to describe synthetic detergents, wetting agents, and all other compounds which reduce the surface tension of a liquid. |
| Tensile strength | The resistance of material to forces of rupture, expressed in pounds per square inch. |
Hard Floor
| Word | Hard Floor Definition |
| Acrylic floor finish | Water based floor finish that dries hard and glossy. Non discoloring and black mark resistant with long wearing qualities. |
| Adhesion | Refers to the ability of the floor finish to stick to the floor surface and not peel or powder off. |
| Blooming | White discoloration or deposit on the surface of a new concrete or magnesite floor. Excess water comes to the surface of the floor, carrying with it certain soluble salt impurities or excess magnesium chloride. |
| Blushing | Whitening effect that may occurs as a solvent finish dries. Recoating often restores the clear appearance. |
| Brittleness test | Test for floor coating in which a coating on a metal strip is bent over a 1/4 inch mandril and examination made for cracks or breaking. |
| Buffability | The property of a finish which allows it to be repaired and enhance the gloss through buffing or spray buffing. |
| Buffable finish | Floor finish whose appearance can be restored through buffing, usually a softer finish with wax content. |
| Build up | Condition that occurs when successive coats of a floor finish are applied over an area in which there is no wearing of the film. The build up can become darker, higher in gloss, or more difficult to remove than the coating in normal traffic areas. |
| Burnish | To buff a protective floor coating before it dries, resulting in a hard finish. |
| Carnauba | Derived from the Brazilian wax palm. First in powdered form that is melted down into molds. Used as a base in the manufacture of most wax based floor finishes. Generally, the lighter the color, the higher the quality. |
| Coverage | The number of square feet of surface covered by a gallon of floor finish. |
| Crackling | Rupture, flaw, failure, or break down of the original composition of a tile floor. Sometimes caused by poor maintenance, lack of continuous protection, and scrubbing out the binder (adhesive). |
| Dirt retention | Test for a floor finish. When tracked-in soil adheres to or works easily and quickly into the floor finish, the floor finish has high dirt retention. It is desirable to have low dirt retention. |
| Discoloration | The tendency of a wax or plastic film to darken or yellow a floor. |
| Feather in | To carefully blend a spot with the surrounding area. For example, to spot touch up a floor coating, where newly applied finish is “feathered in” to the adjacent area. |
| Film | A thin covering such as a wax coating or layer. One coat of floor finish may have small holes in it so it takes more than one coat to provide a “continuous film” or one through which liquids cannot penetrate. |
| Finish | Protective coating used as a topcoat. Base coats, whether the same or different material serve as sealers. The last coat is the finish. |
| Flexibility | Test for floor finish to determine the ability of a floor finish to be pliable, resilient, or plastic in nature. Tested by coating a flexible tile or bending over a standard mandril. |
| Gloss | Initial or buffed brightness or luster of a floor. Initial gloss is the gloss of a floor finish immediately upon drying. If the finish is buffed, it becomes a buffed gloss. A gloss meter can be used to measure the increase in gloss from the coating or buffing. |
| Non buff finish | Hard floor finish designed to give high initial gloss and which is not repairable by regular dry buffing, only spray buffing. |
| Pitting | Small holes that form in hard surface flooring. Concrete and terrazzo, when installed have fine pores. Cleaning with crystalline cleaners will cause these holes to become larger causing them to become more noticeable pits. |
| Resilient flooring | Flooring material capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture, such as asphalt, linoleum, rubber, vinyl, vinyl asbestos, and cork. |
| Resistance to soil | A finish can be resistant to one or more of the following liquid soils: grease, oils, alkalis, acids, bleaches, solvents, boiling water, and soap. A treated floor should remain cleaner than an untreated floor surface exposed to the same traffic soil. |
| Rubber floors | Made chiefly of synthetic rubber, fillers, and mineral pigments. Vary widely in form and properties. Available in tiles or sheets with many degrees of hardness and flexibility. All contain rubber and should be treated similarly. Are non porous and resist warping and buckling. Resistant to acids, milk, alkalis, and many stains. |
| Sealer | Liquid composition to prevent excess absorption of finish coats into porous surfaces. Also a composition to prevent bleeding. |
| Semi buffable finish | Finish designed to give good initial gloss but is soft enough to allow repair by buffing or spray buffing. |
| Spalling | Cracking, breaking, or splintering of material due to heat; specifically concrete or terrazzo floors. |
| Spray buffing | Mainly a method of cleaning traffic areas of a floor to extend the period between stripping. Leaves the floor with a high gloss, particularly when a high speed machine is used. Periodically followed by a re-coat of polish. |
| Spread and leveling | Ability of a wax or plastic product to be applied to a floor without streaking or drying unevenly. |
| Streaking | Uneven spots, usually in a row, in a floor finish caused by improper application. |
Phenolies, Quaternary Detergents, and Iodophors
| Word | Phenolies, Quaternary Detergents, and Iodophors Definition |
| Acid | Any compound of hydrogen and one or more other elements that dissociates or breaks down to produce hydrogen ions when dissolved in water. Resulting solutions are sour in taste and will cause litmus paper to turn red. Solution will neutralize hydroxides, alkalis, or bases. Acids have a pH less than seven. |
| Alkalis | More properly restricted to hydroxides and carbonates of sodium and potassium, but sometimes loosely applied to metals and bicarbonate and hydroxide of the ammonium radical. Caustic soda, soda ash, bicarbonate of soda, washing soda, caustic potash, and ammonia are examples. Phosphates such as trisodium and silicates such as metasilicate are commonly considered alkalis. Alkalis have the power to neutralize an acid forming salt, turn litmus paper blue and phenolphthalein red and to impart a soap feel and taste to their water solutions. |
| Alkali resistant | Ability of a product to withstand chemical attack by alkalis. |
| Alkaline cleaners | Detergent comprised wholly or in part with one or more of the alkalis. Also applies to a detergent which contains none of the alkalis but which has alkaline properties. |
| Alkaline salt | Compound formed by the reaction of a weak acid with a strong base. has a pH greater than seven In a water solution. |
| Anionic detergent | Detergent that produces negatively charged colloidal ions in solution. Soap and most general-purpose detergents are anionic. Anionics split into two parts in use dilutions and the working part carries the negative charge. Most soiled surfaces are negatively charged so that when the anionic attaches itself to the dirt particle, it is forced away from the surface being cleaned (like charges repel, opposite charges attract). When builders such as phosphates are added to anionics, the “bouncing off” effect of the dirt by electrical force is greatly increased. Most effective in neutral or alkaline solutions. |
| Biodegradable | Detergents that are biodegradeable can be broken down by normal bacteria found in the ground and waterways. |
| Buffering | A buffered solution tends to resist a change in pH when there is a change in concentration or when the solution is particularly neutralized. Some chemicals act as buffers, which tend to hold the pH constant regardless of changes in concentration or changes due to neutralization. |
| Builders | Complex soluble phosphates added to detergents to tie up water hardness, minerals, giving the effect of soft water and acting as a detergent aid. |
| Caustic | (Sodium hydroxide). Basic ingredient used in building some strong detergents. May not be desirable on some floors. Commonly used in heavy-duty strippers. Use caution when using. |
| Cationic detergent | Detergent that produces positively charged colloidal ions in solution. Cationics are noted for germicidal ability. Quaternary ammonium compounds are good examples of cationics. Cationics split into two parts in use dilutions and the working part carries the positive charge. The positive charge attaches itself to the negatively charged surface and is difficult to remove. This is the reason that a cationic disinfectant remains on treated laundry even after rinsing and causes the fabric to be bacteriostatic. Whenever the anionic and cationic are mixed, their powers are reduced. |
| Chelating agent | Combining with various ingredients to improve and change a product. A “Chelating Agent” in a detergent is designed to increase the performance efficiency of the product. |
| Colloidal action | The name used to describe a property of a detergent that causes soil to be suspended as an emulsion. |
| Detergent germicides | One step product comprised of a germicide and a detergent. May be anionic or cationic in nature. |
| Emulsifying agent | Ingredient added to cause two or more materials to dissolve that do not normally dissolve in each other. |
| Emulsion cleaner | Composition that forms an emulsion capable of dissolving or suspending oils. |
| Iodophor | Germicide based on combination of iodine and surface action agents (detergents). Organisms are killed by oxidation of the enzymes. |
| Ion | Electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed when molecules such as anionic or cationic detergents are dissolved in water. |
| Nionic detergent | Produces electrically neutral colloidal particles in solutions. Nionics have the unique property to be unaffected by anionics and cationics. The nionic particle is large and remains in one piece. It has no charge in use solutions. Said to be less effective in removing solid soils but are superior in removing oils, greases, and waxes. When combined with builders in finished detergents, are effective cleaners in acid and alkaline solutions. Unaffected by hard water. |
| pH value | Degree of acidity or alkalinity measured on a scale from 0 to 14. 0 to 7 is acid, 7 to 14 is alkaline.0 – 3 strongly acid4 – 6 moderately acid
7 neutral 8 – 10 moderately alkaline 11 – 14 strongly alkaline Water hardness and pH are not related. One cannot be predicted from the other. |
| Phenolic | Pertaining to or derived from phenol. Phenol is a powerful antiseptic, disinfectant germicide. Many compounds made now will exhibit similar antiseptic, disinfectant, and germicidal properties. Often referred to as synthetic phenolics. Kills by coagulating protein of a living microorganism. Is irreversible. |
| Phenolic germicide | Germicide that is phenolic in nature or chemically related to phenol. |
| Phosphates | Alkaline builders used in a detergent for their antire-disposition properties and water softening effects. Banned from use in some areas due to their implication in water pollution. |
| Quarternary ammonium | Kills by damaging living microorganisms so leakage through cell walls occurs. Type of organic nitrogen compound in which the molecular structure includes a central nitrogen atom joined to four organic compound groups as well as an acid radical. Exhibit germicidal and surfactant properties. Hydropholic portion of the molecule exists as a cation and sometimes causes them to be referred to as “cationics.” |
| Quats | Contraction for Quaternary Ammonium Compound. |
| Sequestering agent | Ability of an ingredient to separate different properties of water conditions. Improves cleaning abilities. |
| Soap | Cleaning agent made by action of alkali on fatty acids. |
| Toxic | Poisonous. |
| Use dilution test | An official A.O.A.C. test that is more severe than the older Phenol Coefficient Method for determining germicidal power. Tests the germicide at the recommended dilution on surfaces contaminated with organic matter and bacteria that duplicate actual field conditions. Test is said to be superior to the Phenol Coefficient Test. |
| Wetting action | That which brings a detergent solution into close contact with both soil and the surface below the soil. |
| Wetting agent | Detergent active materials incorporated into soap and detergent products to increase their ability to penetrate and remove soil. |
