This product is an example of innovative design applied to an ordinary domestic item. It arose from the company's perception of a need in the marketplace. E.D. Oates is a well established Melbourne firm which has been manufacturing floor mops for many years.

In the 1980s a fashion for hard, polished, uneven floors of slate and tile made mops popular again after decades of competition with carpets and vacuum cleaners. As you mop you have to squeeze the water out regularly. The old style roller-wringer was a foot-operated contraption attached to a heavy galvanised steel bucket. You had to push a lever very hard with one foot to squeeze the rollers together, pull the mop up to wring out the water and steady the bucket with the other foot. If you got this balancing act wrong, the bucket often tipped over and so did you. In 1984 the E D Oates company approached industrial designers at Design Lab in Melbourne with the challenge to redesign the century-old wringer bucket. Their solution was to replace the weight and complex assembly of the metal bucket by using PVC plastic, injection-moulded in one piece. They designed the wringer lever as a broad plastic pedal placed over the centre of gravity of the bucket so that it wrung out the mop and stayed balanced using only one foot.

The bucket won an Australian Design Award in 1988. In 2006 the All Australian Mop Bucket was still made by E.D. Oates in Australia and sold under the brand Oates Clean.

Designed by Design Lab, Melbourne, Australia around 1983-1985. Partners involved were Gerry Muffet, Phillip Slattery, Alphonse Ban Mannen. Made by E D Oates Pty Ltd in Reservoir, Victoria, Australia.

In the 1980s the increasing use in modern houses of ceramic and slate tile floors caused an increase in the sales of the traditional cotton mop because of its suitability for cleaning uneven floor surfaces. However, most modern houses have no suitable storage space to store the traditional, bulky, metal mop wringing bucket. E.D. Oates therefore commissioned the Melbourne design consultancy Design Lab to develop a bucket, made of plastic which would be compact, lightweight, durable and of rugged construction.

The bucket is made of plastic whereas metal has been traditionally used for such objects. The product was developed for a company which had never previously manufactured buckets.

Australian Design Registration number AU 95247 S

Donated to the Museum as new from the manufacturer.

The bucket won an Australian Design Award in 1988. In 2006 the All Australian Mop Bucket was still made by E.D. Oates in Australia and sold under the brand Oates Clean.

E. D. Oates Pty Ltd grew from the original A. A. Oates broom factory that operated in North Melbourne before the First World War. Starting with cotton mops in 1930, Edgar Oates, his father Albert and brothers Bert and Lawrence worked through the great depression with Edgar and Lawrence then serving their country in the Second World War.

In the post war years the product range was steadily expanded and production facilities improved. A reputation amongst trade buyers as a reliable supplier of quality products was firmly established in all markets. During the 1980Â?s and 1990Â?s acquisitions and product development together with the opening of warehouses and sales offices in all mainland capitals resulted in E. D. Oates becoming the leading supplier of cleaning products in Australasia.

In 2002 all products were branded Oates Clean to clearly identify the Oates name with cleaning in the Australian and New Zealand markets. At the commencement of 2004 the Oates Clean range comprises over 1500 products and customers range from the largest Supermarkets, DIY Chains and Mass Merchants to specialized cleaning outlets and export customers across the Pacific and Asia.
Source: Oates Clean website, http://www.oates.com.au, accessed 31 August 2006

Bucket, 'All Australian Mop Bucket', plastic, designed by Design Lab, made by E D Oates Pty Ltd, Australia, 1991

The bucket of grey plastic, is rectangular with straight sides, rounded corners, a wide flanged rim and a recessed handle incorporated into the base at one end to facilitate the pouring of used water. The carrying handle coloured fluorescent pink has straight sides rising to rounded corners supporting two uprights which are separated by a cylindrical bar secured by two grey plastic rivets. The wringing action is made up of a foot treadle in dark charcoal coloured plastic, flat with a raised ridged instep at one end; the action pushes a roller, secured by two guides moulded into the sides, across the top of the bucket to meet another roller fixed at the other end.

Made: E D Oats Pty Ltd; Broadmeadows, Victoria; 1991

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