worse, they might clog up dewatering equipment if thespace were flooded.SWEEPERS“Sweepers” is piped shortly after reveille, beforethe end of the regular working day, and at other times asscheduled. At these times, all persons assigned assweepers draw their gear and sweep and swab downtheir assigned areas. All trash and dirt are picked up in adustpan and placed in a trash receptacle.NOTEIf dirt is swept over the side, the wind may blowit back on board or the dirt may stick to the sideof the ship. In either case, additional work isnecessary to clean the ship.At this time you should empty all butt kits (makesure no butts are still burning) and trash receptacles asinstructed. Never dump trash or garbage over the side ofthe ship without first obtaining permission from theofficer of the deck. At times, all trash must be kept in asafe area aboard the ship until it can be properlyremoved.CLEANING PROCESSDirt, soil, and contamination all describe the samething—a foreign material on a surface where it is notwanted. Soil includes grease, oil, tarnish, rust, foodresidue, and stains. Most exposed surfaces that havebeen soiled may be cleaned with the proper use ofcleaning agents.Detergents are materials that have the ability toremove contamination and soil. There are other ways ofcleaning besides using detergents or cleaningcompounds. These include purely mechanicalprocesses, such as removing rust from steel by sand-blasting or cleaning decks by sweeping. For manycleaning problems, chipping, sweeping, sanding, orbrushing may be needed. However, when detergentcompounds are coupled with the mechanical action, acleaner surface is usually produced with less time andwork.The steps used in most detergent cleaningoperations are as follows:1. Wetting—The soil and the surface of the objectbeing cleaned must be wetted. If the surface is notwetted properly, cleaning results will be poor. Contraryto popular belief, water has very poor wettingproperties. Its wetting ability, and therefore its cleaningability, is improved by adding other materials, such assoap or synthetic detergents. Adding soap or syntheticdetergents cause the water to flow into tiny crevices andaround small particles of soil.2. Scrubbing—Dirt is loosened by the mechanicalaction of rubbing or scrubbing. For example, oildroplets are emulsified; that is, they are coated with athin film of soap and prevented from recombining, andthen they rise to the surface. In a somewhat similarmanner, solid particles are suspended in solution.3. Rinsing—Rinsing is very important. Rinsingremoves loosened dirt from the surface along with thecleaning material.FIELD DAYField day is cleaning day. Periodically, a field day isheld. All hands “turn to” and thoroughly clean the shipinside and out, usually in preparation for an inspection.Fixtures and areas that sometimes are neglected duringregular sweepdowns (overhead cables, piping, corners,spaces behind and under equipment, and so on) arecleaned. Bulkheads, decks, ladders, and all otheraccessible areas are scrubbed. Knife edges and doorgaskets are checked; any paint, oil, or other substancesare removed; all brightwork is shined; and clean linen isplaced on each bunk. Field days improve the appearanceand sanitary condition of the ship, aid in thepreservation of the ship by extending paint life, andreduce the dirt intake caused by operating equipment.Because of weather conditions, there are many daysat sea when the ship’s topside areas can’t be cleaned. Atthe first opportunity, all topside surfaces are cleanedwith freshwater and inspected for signs of rust andcorrosion. If such signs are discovered, you should tendto the area immediately. A little work at that time willsave you a lot of work later.18-2Student Notes:
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