Thomas w stewart mop inventor

Cleaning tool made up of coarse strings

For other uses, see MOP and Mops (disambiguation).

A mop (such as a floor mop) is a mass or bundle of coarse strings or yarn, etc., or a piece of cloth, sponge or other absorbent material, attached to a pole or stick.

It is used to soak up liquid, for cleaning floors and other surfaces, to mop up dust, or for other cleaning purposes.^[1]

History

The word (then spelled mappe) is attested in English in 1496, but new refinements and variations of mop designs have been introduced, from time to time.

For example, American inventor Jacob Howe received US patent #241 for a mop holder in 1837^[2] and Thomas W. Stewart (US patent #499,402) in 1893.^[3]

In her book Maggie's Memories, Margaret Wadkin (late of Hickling, near Melton Mowbray in England) describes the use of a mop nail for constructing homemade mops from old pieces of cloth during her village childhood in the early 20th century;

The mop n