A mop is a household tool for cleaning, dusting, drying and washing solid surfaces such as floors, woodworks, ceilings and walls. It is usually fastened with a long handle and attached with a bundle of loose yarns, rags, cloth or sponge. An African American inventor, Thomas W. Steward of Kalamazoo, Michigan invented and patented the mop in June 1893. It is made of yarn and the clamping system allowed the water to be wringed out easily by flipping a lever. This made mopping and cleaning job faster and easier and quickly became a name for the industrial and household use.
Peter Vosbikian partnered with his brother Thomas and established one of the largest cleaning tools and related product business in North America, Philadelphia in 1919.
An automatic sponge mop was invented by Peter Vosbikian in 1950 which was a huge success and thus creating a brand new company named Quickie Manufacturing Corporation. This automatic mop was connected to a lever and had a sponge attached to a metal. The mop will automatically squeeze dry when the lever is pulled and the metal compressed the sponge. No bending and repeated hand wringing is required when using this sponge mop, thus making it a household choice. This makes cleaning job easier, cleaner and quicker.