What is a high quality brush for cleaning and why you need one

Broom Selection

Selecting a broom can require serious choices. It is easy to find brooms, but many will simply not be adequate for your cleaning environment and may leave it inadequately cleaned. In selecting a broom you should consider the following:

• What types of floors do you have?
• What kinds of debris are you usually sweeping up?
• Are there tight corners and hard to reach spaces that you have to get into?
• Do you need to sweep wet spaces or just dry spaces or both?
• Are there oils or chemicals on the floors?

The Restaurant Store buying guide lists eleven kinds of brooms, each one especially suited to a different kind of cleaning.

Broom types

• Amish brooms. These are made of high-quality corn straw, bound and sewn by hand. They are designed to last for years.
• Lobby brooms. These are lightweight and compact brooms, the kind that can be used for one-handed cleaning under tables and hard to reach spots.
• Midsized brooms. These are mid-sized brooms, typically used for daily cleaning.
• Warehouse brooms. These have an oversized broom head that’s designed for sweeping dust and other fine particles in large open areas.
• Whisk brooms. These are really brushes or short brooms without handles used to clean small areas used with dust pans.

Bristle types

• Natural corn fibre.
• Polypropylene fibre.
• Flagged polypropylene fibre.
• Synthetic corn fibre.
• X-shaped synthetic corn fibre.
• Unflagged polypropylene bristles.
• Flagged filament bristles.
• Tampico fibre.
• Unflagged filament bristles.

Flagged bristles are frayed at the ends to collect small particles. Unflagged bristles are straight and stiff. They are better suited for picking up larger particles. They tend to last longer than flagged bristles.

The lobby broom with synthetic corn fibre bristles is the most generally useful broom. It is particularly useful for picking up tiny debris. It can be used with liquid debris and chemical debris. It is good on both smooth and rough flooring, as well as carpet. However, the lobby broom is not good for small spaces, or for large debris.

Mid-sized brooms with unflagged polypropylene bristles are good for large debris in both indoor and outdoor settings. It is good for both smooth and rough surfaces.

Only two kinds of brooms are good for carpets:  The lobby broom with synthetic corn bristles and the mid-sized broom with x-shaped synthetic corn fibre bristles.

What are high-quality brooms?

The best broom, of course, is the one best suited for your cleaning type. In evaluating brooms, Wirecutter.com looked at the total number of bristles on the broom head. They favoured flagged polypropylene bristles which pick up dusty debris and fine powders. They also looked at such factors as the feel of the broom, the balance and the comfort of the handle. Some high-quality commercial brooms vary the bristles with stiff materials in the middle and softer materials at the edges so the edges can pick up smaller debris and the middle will handle larger debris. Reviewers warn against cheap plastic bristles. Tougher materials in the bristles are recommended by all.

Prolene Bristles

High-quality brooms sold by Longera are made with Prolene bristles. Prolene is a polypropylene material used in making medical sutures. The material is both strong and flexible. The bristles are 350 mm in diameter and textured to make them just ridged enough to catch particles of debris without damaging surfaces. These wooden brooms are recommended for industrial or commercial use. They can be used to push wet or dry debris on roads, in gutters, and over bitumen surfaces.

Longara is a family-owned company that has grown to become a leading manufacturer of a full range of industrial, commercial and household brushes. Please contact us to learn more.