You Need a Better Broom (and Here Are Six to Choose From)
In the last week, I had two major dry-spill incidents in my home. In both moments of dire need, my dollar-store broom failed me miserably. There's nothing quite as frustrating as being in the middle of a mini crisis and having it compounded by something else, let alone something else you're responsible for.
The whole situation didn't sit right with me and spurred me to get a new broom that would be capable of moving my messes into a dustpan without scattering dirt farther around, dragging hair along the floor, or, worst of all, creating a clumpy mess that I have to manually dislodge from the bristles. I've spent a few days investigating broom types and feel confident I am prepared to buy the best possible replacement for my cheap piece of junk. Join me on this journey.
Different kinds of brooms to choose from
I once labored under the delusion that a broom is a broom and they're all more or less the same. Sure, when I worked retail jobs in college, I noticed we used heavier-duty brooms than what I was used to seeing in my home, but I chalked that up to there just being more surface area in a bookstore than in my dorm. But I was wrong! There are different kinds of brooms for many reasons and they do various things.
Angle brooms work best in tighter spaces that are full of obstacles, like furniture or appliances, and do well collecting smaller bits of debris. You'll recognize them because, well, their bristles are arranged in an angled pattern.
Push brooms are bigger and have a long, wide head that is usually flat. The bristles are arranged in multiple rows along it and instead of sweeping side to side like you might with a smaller broom, you push this one across the floor. You'll usually find them in garages or sheds, but smaller versions work well indoors, too, if you have major messes.
Corn brooms are the kind you might associate with Halloween-style witches: Their bristles are long and bundled together, meeting the floor flat, unlike an angle broom. The longer bristles give them flexibility, but they're not as great at getting all the dust and dirt together as angle and push brooms.
Small, handheld brooms are usually more reminiscent of corn brooms than angle or push brooms, but they're easier to handle and more direct than a long-handled corn broom is.
A newer entrant into the broom space is the silicone broom, which is like a gigantic squeegee that quickly corrals errant dirt without letting any of it slip between the bristles, since there are none.
The best broom, in my opinion
The broom that recently did me so dirty—literally—is an angle broom. Do I think all angle brooms are evil? No, I do not. Do I think you need a high-quality one instead of a piece of garbage from the dollar store? Yes, I do. Mine has sparse bristles and a wobbly head; passing it over a pile of debris usually results in, like, a 45% removal rate. The rest stays untouched, unbothered by the gappy bristles that whiz right overhead. Please don't get me started on how poorly this thing transfers dirt into my bulky dustpan, either.
I came to the following conclusion: I need a broom with a lot of bristles, those bristles and other broom components need to be sturdy, and my dustpan needs to be flat to the floor. The best one I found matching this description is this, for $26.99:
This thing is a like a hybrid of the main broom types: It's small like an angle broom, has rows of bristles like a push broom, and the bristles are long like a corn broom. The edge of the dustpan is an extended piece of rubber, which is significantly flatter and more functional than what I'm working with, and it even has a little scraper to remove tangles and stuck dirt without having to involve your hands in the mess. I don't usually base my purchasing choices on customer reviews, since those can be faked, but this does have almost 40,000 and out of five possible stars, those reviewers have given it four and a half. One person described the bristles as "plentiful," which is exactly what I need.
There is, however, another option: One of those fancy new silicone brooms. From time to time, I go dislodge my tiny squeegee from its holster in the shower and use it to tackle spills on hard floors. It collects dirt, debris, and liquid easily, making it super easy to clean up. I use the old trick of laying down a damp paper towel and sweeping over it to collect all the dust, but if the spill involves liquid, I lay the paper towel down dry and let it dampen itself.
Since I already enjoy using the small squeegee, I know I'd be into one of the long-handled silicone brooms. For $9.99, you can get one that's angled or flat, depending on your preference and the amount of obstacles you need to sweep around. What's nice about these is they're pretty compact and easy to store, too, and there are no bristles to get all bent out of shape in the closet.
Other broom options and notes
I'm leaning toward that multi-layered, well-bristled one, but while I'm on the fence between that or a silicone broom, I'll share a few others I found in my research that might work well for your needs.
The FURemover ($13.99) is a novel push broom with rubber bristles that are designed to nab up pet hair. The O-Cedar Power Corner ($24.15) is a standard angle broom, but I like it for two reasons: I really trust the brand when it comes to floor cleaning, as O-Cedar mops are really undefeated, and it has a healthy amount of bristles. Finally, the TrueYee broom ($16.99) has solid ratings and if I had a larger home with more floor space, I would absolutely be choosing a push broom to speed up the sweeping process. If you do have a lot of floor to work with, it might be the one for you.
No matter what broom you get, though, it won't work well if it's dirty. You do need to clean your broom periodically, even if you get one that has a detangler on the dustpan, because there's no point in dragging old dirt around the floor when you're trying to clean it. This doesn't have to be hard, though. I recommend just using your bathtub.