The Simple Trick That Make Your Broom And Dustpan Work Way Better
I have always found sweeping to be one of the most frustrating daily chores. You gather all the crumbs into a neat little pile and then spend five minutes fighting that annoying line of dust that just will not go into the pan. There are so many little annoyances that make sweeping way harder than it needs to be. But I recently discovered a few wonderfully simple tricks that completely changed how I use my basic broom and dustpan, and have me sweeping up each night in half the time.
Taping Down The Dustpan Edge
The absolute best trick I ever learned completely gets rid of that frustrating line of leftover dirt. When you are ready to scoop up your pile, just take a piece of blue painter's tape and tape the front edge of the dustpan directly to the floor. The tape creates a smooth ramp for the dust to slide up and over the edge of the pan. The dirt goes right into the dust pan on the very first try without leaving anything behind.
Wetting The Dustpan For Pet Hair
If you have pets, you know that sweeping usually just sends their loose fur floating back into the air only to settle back onto the floor five minutes later. To stop this from happening, just run your broom or dustpan under a little bit of tap water before you start. You only want the bristles to be slightly damp. The light moisture actually grabs the lightweight hair and dust bunnies so they can’t float away.
Using A Comb For Tangled Messes
After a good sweeping session, the bottom of the broom is usually a tangled mess of human hair and thick dust. Trying to pull it all out with your bare hands is completely gross and never works well. I started keeping a cheap wide tooth plastic comb right next to my dustpan. You just run the heavy comb through the broom bristles a few times to easily pull all that trapped dirt right into the trash.
Storing Your Broom The Right Way
We usually just shove our brooms into the utility closet with the bristles resting on the floor. But the constant pressure from the handle slowly bends and ruins the shape of the plastic bristles over time. A bent broom will never sweep your floors as well as a new one. You should always hang your broom on a wall hook or simply store it standing upside down. Keeping the bristles completely free from pressure makes the tool last way longer.
Clean Your Broom
We expect our cleaning tools to keep our homes fresh but we rarely ever clean the tools themselves. A dirty broom just pushes old dirt around your beautiful kitchen tiles. Every couple of months you should take your broom outside and soak it in a bucket of warm soapy water. A little bit of dish soap breaks down the sticky oils trapped inside the bristles. Let it dry completely in the sun before using it again.
Split Up The Space
I used to try sweeping my entire kitchen by pushing one massive pile of dirt all the way across the room. But as the pile gets bigger you inevitably leave a trail of crumbs behind you. It is so much easier to split your floor into smaller square sections. Sweep the dirt into a tiny pile in the middle of each square and scoop it up immediately before moving on to the next dirty area.
Catching The Edge With A Damp Paper Towel
Sometimes you just do not have any painter tape handy for the dustpan trick. If you are still struggling to get that final tiny line of dust up off the floor you can use a damp paper towel instead. Just lightly wet a single paper towel and wipe it straight across the leftover dust line. The moisture on the paper towel picks up the tiny particles instantly and leaves your floor perfectly clean without needing to sweep it ten times.
Upgrade Your Basic Plastic Dustpan
If you are still using a cheap plastic dustpan from the dollar store you might be making your chores much harder than necessary. Those cheap pans usually have warped edges that do not sit flush against the hard floor. Upgrading to a slightly nicer dustpan with a flexible rubber lip makes a huge difference. The heavy rubber fits tightly to your uneven floorboards and creates a natural seal that stops dirt from getting swept underneath it.
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It is such a relief to know that there are easier ways to do our daily chores. Finding clever little ways to make a broom work better saves so much physical energy and mental frustration at the end of a long day. Your floors will look absolutely wonderful with half effort you would normally put in. And that’s a big win in my books.
Bliss Donahue-Power
