In any orderly, well-run household, aside from weekly deep-cleaning of the house, there are daily chores which should be done, little things that take only a few minutes to accomplish, but which add to the neatness and orderliness of the house.

Among those tasks awaiting daily attention is wiping off counter tops and stove top to ensure that they are tidy and clean after use. In the bathroom, the same should be done; sinks and counter tops also wiped clean. In the bedroom, beds neatly made up, and clothing hung properly away.

And, daily, after the morning or evening meal, the floors in the kitchen and eating areas of the house should be dry-mopped, to gather and remove the day's detritus that invariably accumulates. I've always found a floor dry-mop invaluable for that purpose, never a broom. And it has always been a quick and efficiently-done task to use a traditional dry mop after wiping up the kitchen post-dinner so that the kitchen can be left in good condition to greet me on the morning.

Most such dry mops I've had over the years have been sturdily and reliably engineered; they are, after all, fairly simple household cleaning tools, requiring a fluffy fabric head capable of attracting and picking up fluff, dust and other bits that fall to the ground throughout the course of a day. And they have given me good service - the mop heads removed for washing when required - for years. It is within the last year or so that the familiar old-fashioned floor dry-mop appears to have disappeared from dry-goods and household tool inventories in the usual places where one shops for such items.

In their place have been poorly-engineered replacements lacking the durability and usefulness of the originals. They have been presented as not merely alternatives, but the only available choices; gone are the reliable such tools of old. The new ones are made of flimsy plastic where sturdy fabric or metal parts should be, so that with vigorous daily use they fall apart after a month or so of use.

Our search for a decently-engineered, intelligently manufactured dry mop using lasting materials in their design is a frustrating one, and one cannot help but wonder why discontent with these new products on the part of consumers isn't reaching the ears of the manufacturers.