The Wave Floor Wiper, which promises to give the fastidious cleaner access to cracks and crevices beyond the reach of the ordinary household mop or broom, has won the Good Design Award 2020.

In explaining their decision, the judges highlighted the Wave’s rotating head, which makes it possible to clean gaps just 2cm wide, as well as clean around corners. Because the head rotates, there is no need for the user to change the direction by hand and is extremely easy to use. The mop seems to power itself, making the switch from horizontal surface cleaning to vertical surface cleaning effortlessly.

Also, the texture of the Wave Floor Wiper’s head makes light work of cleaning even rough and irregular surfaces. The judges also commended the designers’ attention to storage. Because the Wave Floor Wiper’s head collapses flush with the shaft of the handle when lifted, it can be stored even in the narrowest of spaces.

The Wave Floor Wiper’s handle is made of a material that is a pleasure to hold and won’t slide down the wall when you lean it against one. The designers have even given careful thought to their wiper’s colour, choosing a hue that is sure to blend into your home’s colour scheme.

The judges’ decision reflects its popularity. The Wave Floor Wiper was launched in 2019 and was soon being praised by customers for opening up new worlds of previously inaccessible dust and grime. With its neat, ergonomic shape and high grip handle, it has shown that sometimes there is room for improvement even in tools long thought to be perfectly designed for the job.

The Good Design Award is a comprehensive design evaluation and recommendation scheme sponsored by the Japan Institute for the Promotion of Design. It began with the Good Design Product Selection System, which was established in 1957. Over the past 62 years, the Good Design Award has grown to become the public face of the movement to improve Japanese industry and lifestyle through design. The ‘G mark’, indicating that a product has won the Good Design Award, is widely recognised as an industry standard. To date, about 48,000 products have won the award.

The Wave Floor Wiper is manufactured by Unicharm Corporation, one of Japan’s largest makers of household goods, baby products, women’s sanitary products, healthcare products, pet care products and food packaging. A spokesperson said of the company’s floor wiper, “We want to support your comfortable life. Wave was born with such a feeling. Wave promises you a pleasant day.”

For more details, call the Unicharm customer service centre on 0120-423-001, or see the company’s homepage.


By - George Lloyd.