Off the bat, I need to confess that I was unable to write a poem to, or about, a broom. Sorry for your disappointment. (‘Room…Broom’… it’s all I got…)
Plus, the truth is I cleaned for years without using a broom. We house cleaners haul plenty of supplies back and forth; a girl’s gotta draw the line somewhere, right?
But a few years ago I added a broom as an experiment. It really helped with a number of tasks, so now I usually bring one… depends on the house.
Think of it as a ‘Classic’, and keep the following tips in mind when buying, and using, a broom…
Firstly: Witch Broom!? (Sorry, I could not resist!)
Don’t buy just any broom.
Regarding corn brooms…. as much as I admire our cabin-on-the-prairie porch-sweeping ancestors, I feel it’s time we move forward; especially for home interiors. Corn brooms are charming, yes; precise, no.
Get yourself an angled broom; and it simply must have a clip-on dust pan! Both features are absolutely non-negotiable. The green Libman ‘Precision Angled Broom with Dust Pan’ is my favorite; just the right bristle-length and stiffness.
Here’s What It Helps With:
Kitchen Floor Edges: Every kitchen floor can benefit from running the angled broom along the edges; pulling-out all the stuff that collects beneath the front edge of appliances, and along the base of the cabinets. Once debris is in the center of the floor, it can be swept into the dust pan, or vacuumed up. It sure makes mopping easier when the floor is perfectly de-crumbed along the edges.
Utility Room, Mud Room, and Storage Areas: The broom & dustpan duo is just the thing for reaching nooks in the laundry room, gathering grass and leaves in the mud room, or cleaning cat litter from any hard floor. (Cat litter is particularly risky to vacuum up on a floor that can scratch.) It’s also great for the pantry floor, and coat closets.
Stairs: An angled broom does a great job on wood steps littered with dirt and debris.
Bathroom: Whether with a vacuum or a broom, it’s always helpful to sweep the (dry) bathroom floor before beginning to clean, just to get the lion’s share of floor debris removed. And if you do not have ‘basketball arms’ and struggle to clean behind the toilet, it can help to broom out behind and around the toilet before the area gets wet.
Baseboards: If the broom is clean, you can give a quick swipe to baseboard tops and molding toe strips as you edge the floor. Especially in areas that see a lot of hard living, it’s an easy way to keep dust and dirt from accumulating.
Porches: A broom is handy for exterior door thresholds… or the front porch and steps (if you’re feeling like it’s a good day for a random act of kindness).
What It’s NOT Good For:
HAIR is the weakness of any broom; especially hair in a balled-up clump~ it’s like broom kryptonite. Pet or human hair, it sticks in the bristles, and~ ick. (Just vacuum the bristles off when that happens, though.)
How to Store and Transport:
After each job, vacuum the bristles then take a damp paper towel and pull off anything stuck. You can slip the broom head into a large plastic bag (even twist-tie) before loading into your car.
Keep the broom and dustpan hanging somewhere handy at home~ you’ll use it there, too!
