My Favorite Piece of Machinery: The Sidewalk Sweeper

I can still hear their sound on Sunday mornings. They would often wake me up as a child, which made them my favorite sound as I was always eager to get out of bed as early as possible. Although nowadays I like to sleep a little longer, the sound of a sidewalk sweeper on a Sunday morning still brings me joy. Whenever I hear or see a sidewalk sweeper, I get that happy and anxious/fidgety feeling I would have as a kid when I knew a new, awesome day was about to begin.

Sidewalk sweepers are plenty especially during fall. The reason for this can by the way be found in the name for the season. Although many people will tell you ‘autumn’ is the more correct word to indicate this time of year, fall actually finds its origin in 16th century England. Fall refers to the falling of leaves which is, naturally, typical for this time of year. It’s probably not very hard to guess now which season is my favorite. Fall? No, actually its summer. But fall comes in a very close second!

In all seriousness though, next to bringing up good memories, a sidewalk sweeper has great value for society. They keep entire cities clean, and they do it faster than 20 people would. A very cost-effective invention, designed to make human lives a lot easier (and cleaner). Sidewalk sweepers fascinate me, so I couldn’t help doing a little bit more research into the business of sidewalk sweepers.

Looking at the website of a company named Trilo, made it clear that there is much more to a sidewalk sweeper than meets the eye. A good sidewalk sweeper can vacuum litter and debris, can sweep leaves and can clean the streets. And is does all this in the seconds it hoovers above a surface! To do so properly, a sidewalk sweeper naturally has to have sufficient power. Also it needs to be able to maneuver easily and it should, for the user, be very maintenance friendly. Trilo even offers a complete service package, guaranteeing low maintenance and service throughout the whole of Europe.

As a kid, I had never considered the thriving business behind the sidewalk sweeper, but next time I see a sidewalk sweeper I will make sure to stop for a moment and consider the business behind it.