Slippers or shoes with a sticky sole that will pick up lint and scraps (like those dratted leavings from hole punches - what are they called?) from the floor. When the sole becomes covered and not sticky anymore, peel it off for the next layer. Easier on the back than a handheld device.

This already exists in the form of a brush for delinting clothes and pets so a modification shouldn't be too hard.

Note: A.Word.A.Day calls those little bits of paper "chad."
-- centauri, Jul 13 2000

A.Word.A.Day Archives http://www.wordsmit.../awad/archives/1199
Those little bits of paper are called "chad." [centauri, Jul 13 2000, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Peel-away Soles http://www.halfbake...a/Peel-away_20Soles
Same idea, different intent. [phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

I walk around in my bare feet, which is naturally sticky, and then wipe the crap off into the garbage can.
-- koo, Jul 13 2000


Hole punch catalogs call the bits of paper "chips", as in "slide-open tray for no-mess chip emptying".
-- egnor, Jul 13 2000


Get these shoes REALLY sticky, and you can join the bugs walking up walls and across the ceiling. Could be unnerving to visitors to find you "up there". Architects and builders may have to adjust their designs and materials though :)
-- jetckalz, Jul 13 2000


I think the shoes would get unsticky/too dirty, too fast. you'd be constantly going to the next layer of stickyness. That'd be annoying.
-- HotBlackDesoto, Jul 14 2000


How about you have a normal (old) pair of shoes, and two trays on the floor (perhaps that old black and white photograph development kit you have in your attic and haven't used for years would do nicely?). In the first tray you pour a layer of the glue, and the second you half fill with solvent that renders the glue unsticky.

Now all you need to do to clean your house is step in the first tray, walk around until your shoes are "full", step in the second tray to clean the detritus off the bottom, stand in the first tray again and repeat.

This would involve no bending down, and remarkably little effort. The whole family could join in with floor cleaning!

You would, unfortunately, have to periodically clean your floors and carpets the more conventional way, adding a little solvent to the cleaning fluid to remove residual glue from the floor.
-- Lemon, Jul 14 2000


It seems to be that a better solution would be to put on big floppy socks that are like dust mops, only without the mop handle. Then you could spray a little Endust on your feet and slide around the room. Lots of people like to skate around in their socks anyway; they might as well get a little dusting done at the same time.
-- dominus, Jul 15 2000


why?
-- cank, Dec 30 2000


dominus: actually, you can buy that very thing -- slippers that are essentially dustmops without the handle, made for easy floor dusting.
-- PotatoStew, Dec 30 2000


Another alternative to peeling the layers off the shoes would be to have peelable floors. They'd come off in sections...like tiles...although sometimes that cigarette burn on the linoleum would go through several layers. Or how about moulting floors...sweep them once a week? Hmmmm...what about carpets? A broom-like roller made up of a row of cat tongues?
-- grackle, May 13 2001


PotatoStew: not my slippers. The soles are fairly smooth, and get more so after I've worn them all day once too often.
Pete: doesn't seem so undesirable to me. Floor gets clean, flotsam gets disposed of, and kiddie gets fed. Three birds with one stone.
If goo-shoes (possible brand name?) get too messy, and removable floors too bothersome, how about this? Have a wide strip of tape, sticky-side down, on the bottom of the shoe, held in place by channels at the front and back of the sole. The tape is fed from a roll on the back, and the front has a cam-like roller with a sharp, serrated apex. When the tape gets too dusty, or loses it's stick, simply pull out the leading edge and it'll be replaced by a fresh strip.
-- nick_n_uit, May 14 2001


Hey, look at that. We were talking about chad before chad was cool.
-- egnor, May 14 2001


At the Kennedy Space Center, they have sticky mats to walk on and remove all the dirt from the soles of your shoes before you go into the room where they prepare the payloads for the space shuttle.
-- koobatz, Jul 04 2001



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