How I Invented the Louvre Mop (and Nearly Took Out my Wife’s Car)

If you’ve ever cleaned louvre windows, you’ll know they’re a pain. In every way. They take ages, you end up mopping one side at a time, back and forth, and by the end your wrists feel like they’ve been through a CrossFit session.

I’d been using the usual window cleaning t-bar mop for years. It works, but not well for louvres. And if a home has any louvres, there's normally heaps of them. I also tried the other “specialised” tools out there: the Sorbo Tricket Washer. It’s meant to clean both sides at once, but it’s so awkward to use, you end up wrestling with it the whole time. Not ergonomic, not easy to store, and definitely not something my crew ever wanted to use.

Horrible Tricket Washer - What Were They Thinking?

That’s when I figured I could probably come up with something better to clean louvres.

The First Prototype: Plumbing Bits and Velcro

Like most good Aussie inventions, mine started with some spare plumbing parts and a dodgy idea. I got out my wife's hairdryer to heat and reshaped plastic tube until I had something like a two pronged fork with flat faces. I added Velcro to hold on a microfibre pad. It kind of worked. It had potential even though it looked ugly.

Where it all began – rough prototypes built in the garage that would eventually become the Louvre Mop

But the plastic wasn’t ideal. It bent too much, didn’t feel solid, and wasn’t holding up.

Aluminium, Bending, and a Fools Errand

Next step was to upgrade the material. I decided on aluminium flat bar - light, strong, and wouldn’t wear out. Easier said than done. It took a bunch of phone calls and two wrong addresses before I found a local supplier. They charged by the cut, so I figured I’d just buy a saw and do it myself.

Cue the next learning curve.

I didn’t realise that aluminium kicks like an angry mule. One chunk of cut-off metal barely missed my wife’s car (this was literally in the garage). I also learned not to wear a good shirt while cutting - the hot metal filings melt straight into the fabric.

Remnants of aluminium bar in the making of the louvre mop

After that, I got the hang of it, mostly. The real challenge was bending the bar into the exact shape I needed for the handle. I bought bending machines online (none available locally in-store), but couldn’t get them to do what I wanted. Took them to a local fabricator, who gave it to their oldest, most experienced guy. After a few weeks pondering, he shook his head and said it couldn’t be done. Not with my setup.

Bending the bar to make the louvre mop

The only answer was getting a designer involved and putting it into their heavy duty metal pressing machines. Not the kind of expense I could afford. I was about ready to give up.

A Beer and a Breakthrough

One arvo I had my brother-in-law over for a beer and showed him the problem. He looked at it for a few seconds and said, “Why does the handle have to bend all the way back on itself? Just contour it so it fits the hand.”

That was it. The big idea. I didn’t need a full curl, just the right shape to be comfortable and grippy.

From there I refined it to half-millimetre precision. Finally got the bends consistent. Strong, simple, ergonomic.

The Final Stretch

But when it came to the microfibre mop, I jumped online and found a supplier in China who could help bring that part to life. I sent over rough sketches (I couldn’t draw to save my life) and worked with them to develop samples that fit the frame snugly, stuck well, held up to water, and could be ripped off easily for cleaning. It took a bit of back and forth, but with strong Velcro and tough stitching, we got there.

Eventually it all came together. We put the final version through its paces with the crew and got solid feedback. It was easy on the hands, tough as nails, and made the job about twice as fast. Plus, we made two sizes, one for 102mm louvres and one for 152mm - since those are the common ones.

Louvre Mop final product

The Louvre Mop now feels like something that should’ve existed already. But it took a year of trial, error, fools errands, and near-misses to get here.

And like most good tools, it was built out of frustration and a bit of curiosity to see if there was a better way. Get one in your hands here:

Louvre Cleaning Mop Large (152)

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