TheBuzz
TheBuzz
The 22 semifinalists in this year's Hammacher Schlemmer Search for Invention included Edward Pao of Wailuku, for floor mops worn on the feet. A mousetrap it ain’t
Pao's background is in agriculture in California, raising lettuce. His background also includes a great deal of frustration in trying to keep his floor clean in damp Monterey with several large dogs tramping about.
"I just tried every kind of mop there was -- but I couldn't keep the place clean and dry," he said. He assumed the position and did the floor on hands and knees, "and it worked pretty well, but it was hard on my back."
Necessity being the mother of invention, he said "I just started tinkering around, and wrapped a towel on my feet and it worked okay but it was sloppy." The design evolved, but there was also the matter of the smelly mophead; most of which can't survive a round in the washing machine.
The foot-borne mops work on the principle that the user's weight replaces the need for elbow-grease, and there's no need for a bucket of cleaning solution. "I usually use Tilex spray," he said, "I just spray a little bit, walk over it, and it's done."
He got his patent about a year ago, he said, which is how Hammacher Schlemmer found him -- through the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.
Search for Invention Director Sabrina Balthazar said early this year the company mailed postcards to some 12,000 consumer product inventors inviting them to participate. Of the respondents, a record-breaking 558 entries qualified for the competition.
Final judging will occur Monday Sept. 10 in New York City with winners announced the following day. The overall winner with the highest points will receive a $5,000 cash grant, while winners in each of the four categories -- personal care, personal electronics, utilitarian home and garden and recreation -- will receive $1,000.
Pao is currently consulting for a janitorial service company in California, for whom he's developed a floor-wax applicator, but he doesn't consider himself an expert on floor cleaning, "I don't know if you can call yourself anything until you can make money at it."
Pao is still working on a market-ready version of the foot mop.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com