Swabbing

He said that swabbing your own throat was ill-advised.

The sailors are swabbing the deck.

Hospital workers tried to admit her after swabbing her for the test, but she insisted on self-quarantining herself at home.

Cleanliness on board of a ship is highly necessary for the preservation of the health of seamen; but the custom of frequent swabbings or washings between the decks, as is too frequently practised, is certainly injurious[…]