Black Decker Inc.

Kevin Appleby

Stephen Andrew Houghton

Christopher Hussey

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a steam cleaning device, the device comprising a supply of water for generating steam, and a steam cleaning head for ejecting steam generated from said supply of water in proximity to a surface to be cleaned, wherein the steam cleaning head comprises a portion for receiving a composition adapted to be used in conjunction with such a steam cleaning device, the portion being perfused by steam during ejection by said steam cleaning head of steam generated from said supply of water. This has the advantage that the composition may be changed by a user dependent only on the user's requirements and the rate of consumption of the composition, and independently of both the rate of consumption of water by the steam cleaning device and any need to remove, clean or replace a cleaning cloth mounted on the steam cleaning head. In a second aspect, the present invention also provides an encapsulated composition adapted to be used in conjunction with a steam cleaning device comprising a supply of water for generating steam, wherein the encapsulated composition has a shape adapted to fit a portion of a steam cleaning head of the steam cleaning device, which portion is perfused by steam during ejection by said steam cleaning head of steam generated from said supply of water. Such a 'must-fit' adaptation of the encapsulated composition provides the possibility that only encapsulated compositions suitable for use in a particular steam cleaning device can be charged into that device, in order to ensure correct dosage by the composition of the steam generated by the device.

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Durham, United Kingdom

Kevin Appleby