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Clean Sweep

Indoor-Outdoor Broom Contractor Push Broom Floor Sweep Warehouse Broom Garage Broom Carbon Steel Wire Street Broom

Rough Surface Broom Water Broom Palmyra Stalk Street Broom Magnetic Nail Sweep Whisk Broom

A broom is one of life’s necessities because it’s hard to keep things in order without one. The purpose of any broom is to transform a thin layer of debris into an easily disposable pile, or it can simply move dirt and debris out of the way. In doing so, a broom becomes a model of mechanical efficiency and a metaphor for handling life’s difficulties—if only every problem could be brushed aside so easily. A broom is a simple thing, and that’s part of its beauty. Its basic design of a head and handle can be transformed so it meets a wide range of requirements and working conditions. Read on, and you may be surprised how each product is designed to meet the challenges of dealing with dirt.

Indoor-Outdoor Broom(picture 1)

This broom has a 24-inch long head designed for sweeping medium-textured indoor or outdoor surfaces. Its hard maple head has two different fibers: An outer layer of soft fibers picks up fine particles, while the stiff-fiber inner bristles pick up large, heavy particles. The 60-inch long wood handle has a die-cast metal connector at its end, and a large sheetmetal screw holds the connector to the broom head. Additional support is provided by the diagonal 1/2-inch wide steel straps known as a teepee brace. It’s a professional-quality product that costs about $25 at home centers. Contact Quickie Manufacturing Corp., P.O. Box 156, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077.

Contractor Push Broom(picture 2)

This is a broom designed to take punishment while sweeping a variety of surfaces indoors or out. Its polypropylene bristles are stapled into the 24-inch long plastic head. A pair of bidirectional handle holes in the head allows you to mount the handle in opposite directions to evenly distribute bristle wear. Another impressive feature is the 60-inch long cushioned, steel handle. It’s braced to the head by means of a large, hexagonal plastic fitting that’s positioned inside a steel bracket. In turn, the bracket is locked to the head with large, self-tapping sheetmetal screws. The design allows the broom to reach more easily under obstacles, unlike diagonal steel bracing. It costs $16 at home centers. Contact Quickie Manufacturing Corp., P.O. Box 156, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077.

Floor Sweep(picture 3)

To efficiently sweep a large, smooth and wide-open area while raising a minimum of dust, you need a broom with a long head and densely packed, smooth bristles, preferably with flagged (frayed) ends. This broom, called a floor sweep, succeeds on both counts. Its maple head is 36-inch long—the longest size commonly available—and its soft, polypropylene fibers are set closely together. This feature, combined with the frayed ends, results in a sweeping tool that gathers fine particles, like sawdust, while leaving floor finishes undisturbed. Its 60-inch long handle is strengthened with a teepee brace screwed to the head. It costs $25 at home centers. Contact Quickie Manufacturing Corp., P.O. Box 156, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077.

Warehouse Broom(picture 4)

More than just the familiar vehicle of witches, this old-fashioned, inexpensive product can be used to sweep rough or smooth surfaces and its design allows it to slip edgewise between boxes (hence its name). And because its head and handle are in the same plane, it hangs flat against a wall. Its bristles are made of broom corn, which is really a variety of sorghum. An advantage of this material, aside from being inexpensive, is that it is a long, lightweight and moderately stiff fiber. Its length means that you’ll probably get years of use out of it before it is worn out. It costs $8.95 plus $4 to $8 shipping from TEK Supply, 1440 Field of Dreams Way, Dyersville, IA 52040; 800-835-7877.

Garage Broom(picture 5)

If you want an ideal garage broom, this product is a good choice. Its 18-inch long head helps it sweep between obstructions that would block a larger broom, and its all-plastic construction makes it withstand moisture. It has two layers of bristles—a smooth-sweeping outer layer and a rough-sweeping inner layer. This allows it to sweep anything from leaves to sand or sawdust. A splined metal fitting on the handle’s end digs into the plastic head, locking the handle firmly in place. The fitting has a hexagonal shape that allows you to put a wrench on it—if necessary—to turn it the last few degrees while tightening or to loosen it. Another nice feature on this broom is the oversize swivel hanging ring on the handle’s tip. The broom costs $9 at home centers. Contact Rubbermaid Home Products, 1147 Akron Rd., Wooster, OH 44691.

Carbon Steel Wire Street Broom(picture 6)

This broom has bristles made of carbon steel wire—by far the toughest bristle material shown here. The design has three advantages. First, it’s extremely rugged and the bristles are long-wearing. Second, the bristles are very stiff, so the broom can be used to move heavy materials, such as crushed stone or demolition debris. Third, because the bristles are made of metal wire, they scour the surface and can prepare it to receive a coating, such as driveway sealer. It costs $23.95 plus $4 to $8 shipping from TEK Supply, 1440 Field of Dreams Way, Dyersville, IA 52040; 800-835-7877.

Rough Surface Broom(picture 7)

This broom uses reasonably long (3-1/2-inch), stiff plastic bristles that are set into the plastic head while it is still molten. Rubbermaid says the advantage to this process is that the bristles are permanently bonded to the head. The broom’s all-plastic head construction makes it an ideal tool for use and storage in damp areas—sheds or other outbuildings. Its 24-inch steel handle threads into the head in the same manner as the garage broom. It costs about $10 at home centers. Contact Rubbermaid Home Products, 1147 Akron Rd., Wooster, OH 44691.

Water Broom(picture 8)

Sometimes, the only way to get a surface really clean is to wash it. Instead of bristles, this broom cleans with six waterjets that boost household water pressure to 180 psi. You connect a garden hose to the 9-pound device and then wheel it over the surface to be cleaned. Turn the water flow off and on with the heavy-duty, quarter-turn fitting installed on the tool’s handle. The water broom (product No. 10195L) costs $160.45 plus shipping from Sporty’s Preferred Living, Department PMM, Clermont County Airport, Batavia, OH 45103; 800-543-8633.

Palmyra Stalk Street Broom(picture 9)

The palmyra stalk street broom is among the oldest, simplest and least expensive of broom designs. It consists of a hardwood head and handle. Set in the head are bunches of bristles made from the stalk of the palmyra palm. The long, stiff bristles are ideal for moving either a tall pile of debris or objects that would topple over the head of a broom with shorter bristles. Its bristles are flared outward from the broom head, allowing it to sweep close to a curb, and the handle is not threaded, so it can be removed quickly if broken. It costs $12.59 plus $4 to $8 shipping from TEK Supply, 1440 Field of Dreams Way, Dyersville, IA 52040; 800-835-7877.

Magnetic Nail Sweep(picture 10)

There’s nothing like a stray nail or screw for puncturing a tire or playing havoc with lawnmower blades, so if you’ve been doing some roofing or outside carpentry, your best bet for capturing stray hardware is to go over the area with this powerful magnetic sweep. Its 31-inch long handle threads onto the head, which contains magnets inside an aluminum housing. This tool costs $39.99 plus $5 to $8 shipping from Northern Tool & Equipment Co., P.O. Box 1499, Burnsville, MN 55337.

Whisk Broom(picture 11)

This whisk broom is similar to the full-length corn broom but is made with finer bristles. Its 11-inch length makes it ideal for storing almost anywhere. It has a cadmium-plated (rust-resistant) ring cap, so you can hang it over a workbench. It costs $2.95 plus shipping from TEK Supply, 1440 Field of Dreams Way, Dyersville, IA 52040; 800-835-7877.

Copyright © Popular Mechanics 2001. Reprinted by permission.