People Are Just Realising What The Brush On Escalators Is For, And No, It's Not To Clean Your Shoes

Life is full of little mysteries – for instance, why do some new-build homes have bricked-up windows, and what does the mysterious cable airline staff sometimes holds in front of a grounded plane really do? 

Then, there are the more frustrating questions, like why chocolate is so expensive right now and why you can’t stop watching that terrible TV show. 

A recent scroll on Reddit brought me to an everyday conundrum I’d never stopped to think about, too.

Writing to r/whatisthisthing, site member u/kristhecadet asked: “What is this thing that you always see on an escalator?”. 

Their accompanying picture showed a red arrow pointing to the “brush” at the base of the machine, right where the stairs meet the rail. 

Good question, I thought. What does that do?

It’s certainly not to clean your shoes

I’ll be honest; I, along with a lot of Redditors, it seems, use the tempting bristles to clean my shoes. 

But according to elevator and escalator providers KONE, they have a “surprising safety purpose” that means shoe-shining is about the worst move you can pull on the brush.

“Some people mistakenly believe the brushes are intended for cleaning shoes, leading them to place their feet near the brushes, which increases the risk of getting shoes, shoelaces, or loose clothing caught in the moving parts of the escalator,” their site reads. 

But in reality, the brush is designed to stop things like fingers and laces from getting jammed in the gap between the moving stairs and the barrier wall (the “skirt”), which would potentially cause serious injuries.

“Escalator brushes act as a barrier, gently nudging anything that gets too close to the edge away from danger,” they add – including people, who tend to move a little further away from the unsafe “skirt” zone thanks to the helpful addition.

“This helps prevent accidental falls and ensures a smooth ride for everyone,” KONE shares.

Some Redditors nailed it 

The first half of a top comment under the original post from Redditor u/brock_lee is therefore bang-on: “They help keep shoes, dresses, handbags, etc. from getting snagged in the tiny gap at the side,” they said.

Still, the site user said they also shine their shoes with the device, which a lot of other commenters admit to doing. 

Given that the brush is designed to prevent items like laces from getting stuck in the skirt, this is far from advisable – as KONE points out, this actually increases your risk of injury.

The more you know...