A squeegee, squilgee or sometimes squimjim, is an onomatopoetically-named tool with a flat, smooth rubber blade, used to remove or control the flow of liquid on a flat surface. It is mainly used for cleaning.
The original squeege was a long-handled, wooden-bladed tool that fishermen used to scrape fish blood and scales from their boat deck, and to push water off the deck after it had been washed.
The best-known of these tools is probably the hand-held window squeegee, used to remove the cleaning fluid or water from a glass surface. A soapy solution generally acts as a lubricant and breaks up the dirt, then the squeegee is used to draw the now water-borne dirt off the glass, thus leaving a perfectly clean surface. Some squeegees are backed with a sponge which can soak up soapy water from a bucket for application to a dirty window.
With the development of the skyscraper in the 20th century, a more efficient tool for the cleaning of window exteriors was needed. Professional window washers began using the Chicago squeegee, a bulky tool with two heavy pink rubber blades. The modern single-blade window cleaning squeegee was patented in 1936; it was made of lightweight brass with a very flexible and sharp rubber blade.
Simple squeegees are made in various shapes for household use, including the cleaning of shower doors, bathroom tile, and garage floors.
Floor cleaning
The floor squeegee is similar to the window squeegee but has a long handle like a push broom, used to clean floors after they have been sprayed with water or soap, to push the water into drains.
This is often used in places that need the floors cleaned regularly, such as army barracks or the meat departments in supermarkets. Hospitals sometimes use the floor squeegee to clean up any spills that occur in operating rooms or regular patient rooms as the design of the squeegee lends itself towards a more sanitary clean up.