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Two Massachusetts firefighters take on kitchen cleanup with an invention they call the Simple Tool.
LYNN, Mass. - Their day job requires running into burning buildings, so two Lynn firefighters can definitely take the proverbial heat in the kitchen. But they are hoping their new invention, the Simple Tool, will reduce one aspect of the kitchen they can't stand: the mess.
'I was kind of inventing it to bust the chops on my wife for using so many paper towels,' Lynn Fire Lt. Rusty Jordan said. 'But I've had very few people say, 'yeah that's a stupid idea.' Everybody can't just be really trying not to hurt my feelings!'
The Simple Tool is a three-in-one triangular cleaning tool that Jordan invented and then developed along with his colleague, firefighter Marcel Thivierge.
Each side of the triangle has a specific task - one side is a scraper, another a squeegee, and the third has a removable microfiber cloth.
Jordan demonstrated the invention, cleaning up the detritus from packing his kids' lunches earlier that morning.
First, he used one side of the triangle to scrape crumbs from the countertop into the trash. Then he took Windex and sprayed the countertop. He used the triangle's squeegee to wipe the surface clean and squeegee the waste into a paper towel. (The counter on which he demonstrated didn't have one, but most of the time people would squeegee directly into the kitchen sink, Jordan said). He mopped up the leftover liquid with the microfiber - which attaches by adhesive and can be removed for washing.
'Maybe it's a guy thing because we like tools, but I used it the other day and my wife was watching and she goes, 'yeah, it's pretty clean,'' Jordan said.
Jordan said he has always been interested in inventing something - whether having an idea for a sitcom or a product.
But nothing really developed beyond the idea stage, even after Jordan said several of his ideas were similar to successful products or concepts.
Meanwhile, he noticed that his family goes through a lot of paper towels. He said that - as in the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' - Windex is a panacea in his household. And paper towels are the fabric of choice, with the family going through about $40 worth of paper towels per month (bought in bulk at Costco).
'We think paper towels are really good, but we waste a lot of money and a lot of resources for them,' Jordan said. He cited statistics that paper towels are a $4.6 billion industry in the United States, and 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used annually.
Jordan said about seven months ago he came up with an idea so that he would stop having to use mail to scrape up crumbs and paper towels to wipe down countertops. He built the Simple Tool prototypes out of cardboard and clay.
He showed them to Thivierge, who is also a plumber and is a gadget guy, to help develop the device - how big it should be, what it should be made of, where the materials would come from, and what they would call it.
'We spitballed for a while,' Thivierge said.
And when they finished the design, they started the marketing.
The firefighters filmed demonstrations in the kitchen of their friend Lynn Police Lt. Glenn Dunnigan. They started a Facebook page, applied for a patent, and began the process to sell the tool on Kickstarter.
The Kickstarter page is scheduled to go live Friday, enabling people to pre-order the tool, which costs $20 and comes with four microfiber pads.
The tool has some limitations. It should be washed by hand because of the adhesive microfiber, and it shouldn't be used to clean up raw fish, chicken or meats.
'It won't eliminate paper towels, but it will greatly reduce the use of them,' Jordan said.
Meanwhile, the Simple Tool can be used on any hard surface, and the microfiber can be washed in the dishwasher or laundry.
'Whether or not people buy it, who knows,' Jordan said. But he said he's only gotten one 'hater,' who simply commented 'stupid' on a Facebook post. Meanwhile, Jordan and Thivierge have learned all about marketing, the intricacies of PayPal and Amazon, how to film and edit infomercials and the process of applying for a patent.
'I think when people see it, they're going to get it,' Jordan said.
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