Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom review: can a £10 broom beat pet hair?

RRP: £10 | Buy now from Amazon

How I tested

I tested the Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom over one month in a home with two cats and two dogs. The testing took place during a period of hot weather when all four pets were shedding heavily.

I used it every day on a parquet hallway and tiled kitchen floor to clear pet hair, crumbs, dust, grit and everyday kitchen mess. I also used it after home haircuts, sweeping cut hair into a pile before collecting it with a dustpan and brush.

To see how it handled tougher jobs, I used the squeegee on wet hair, small spills and cleaning spray residue, and used the rubber bristles with cleaning spray to scrub dried dog food from the floor. I also tested it on a low-pile stair carpet and a wool flat-weave rug to see how well it removed hair and dust away from hard floors.

Throughout the test I assessed how well it picked up different types of pet hair, how easy it was to manoeuvre, whether it marked floors or skirting boards, how easy it was to clean and whether it could replace my usual broom for everyday use.

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My verdict

The Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom is a simple thing, but it's made a ridiculous difference in my house. I tested it for a month with two cats and two dogs, including during a hot spell when they were shedding everywhere, and it quickly became my go-to tool for keeping hard floors under control.

On parquet and tiled floors, it's superb. The rubber bristles pull together hair, crumbs and dust into a neat pile. It picked up wiry and fine dog hair, short and long cat hair with no trouble, and reached right into the edges in my hallway and kitchen. I still vacuum once or twice a week, but this keeps the daily build-up under control in between.

It also came into its own after our hairdresser cut mine and my wife's hair in the kitchen. If I vacuum freshly cut hair straight away with my Dyson V15, it tends to clog. With the Beldray broom, I swept most of it into a pile, collected it with a dustpan and brush, then vacuumed the last few bits. Much less hassle.

Cleaning the broom is the only drawback. The head doesn't come off, so while it's easy enough to pull off clumps of hair or shake them into the bin, giving it a proper wash is awkward. I wouldn't want to rinse all that pet hair down the shower drain or sink, and the handle is too long to wash the head comfortably in a sink anyway. I'll wash it in a bucket of warm soapy water outside when it gets particularly grubby.

For £10, though, I think it's excellent value. If you don't have pets or much hair to deal with, it probably won't feel much different from a normal broom. If your floors are constantly covered in pet hair, long hair or the aftermath of home haircuts, it's well worth having.

Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom: what's in the box?

There's not much to unpack, which is part of the appeal. This is a straightforward rubber-headed broom rather than something with lots of attachments.

• Beldray Antibac Pet Plus broom handle

• flexible rubber bristle head

What's the Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom like to set up?

There's virtually nothing to do - just click the broom head onto the handle and you're away. The telescopic handle adjusts easily and stays where you set it.

It's easy to store too. Mine lives in the utility room, where the narrow head sits almost flat against the wall. There's also a hole at the top of the handle if you'd rather hang it up.

Read next: Best vacuum cleaners for pet hair

What's the Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom like to use day to day?

I've stopped using my ordinary broom altogether. This has taken over for daily sweeps of the hallway and kitchen, where I'm usually dealing with pet hair, crumbs, grit, dust and whatever else ends up on the floor.

The rubber bristles are what make the difference. They gather hair with very little effort, and cope well with the mix of coats in my house. Everything ends up in one tidy pile that's easy to collect with a dustpan and brush.

It's handy around awkward edges too. The narrow head slips into tighter spaces, and the squeegee can be run along skirting boards where hair tends to collect. The angle isn't ideal, but it works. It didn't leave any marks on my parquet, tiles, skirting boards or wool rug either.

The squeegee turned out to be genuinely useful. I used it to scrape up wet hair, deal with small spills and clear cleaning spray from the floor. The bristles are firm enough for light scrubbing too. I sprayed some cleaner onto dried dog food and they shifted it without much effort.

Cleaning is the only faff. Day to day, I just pull the hair off over the bin. When it needs a proper wash, it has to be rinsed. Beldray says the bristles and squeegee can be washed in warm soapy water and both have an antibacterial treatment to help resist bacteria build-up. Because the head doesn't come off, I'd still rather clean it outside in a bucket than wrestle it into my sink.

How well does the Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom perform on pet hair and haircut hair?

This is where it really stands out.

Over a month of testing, it kept on top of the daily build-up of pet hair on parquet and tiled floors, even during the hottest weather when all four animals were moulting. It reached right into the edges where little drifts of hair usually gather.

It was just as useful after home haircuts. Our hairdresser comes to the house, so the kitchen floor ends up covered in cut hair. The broom gathered it quickly into one pile, which I picked up with a dustpan and brush before finishing with the vacuum. That worked far better than asking the Dyson to tackle everything at once.

I also tried it on a low-pile stair carpet and a wool flat-weave rug. Beldray says it can be used on hard floors and carpets, including low and medium pile. It did lift plenty of hair and dust from both surfaces without much effort, but it left behind the shortest white hairs from my small Maltese mix. I'd see it as a useful first pass before vacuuming rather than a replacement for the vacuum on carpets.

The long handle also makes it a little awkward on stairs. It still works, but it's less manoeuvrable than a handheld brush.

Read next: Best floor mops

Is the Beldray Antibac Pet Plus Rubber Head Broom good value for money?

Yes. At £10, I think it's a great buy if you have pets and hard floors. It won't replace your vacuum cleaner, but it makes the days between proper vacuuming much easier.

It also works well as an everyday broom because it deals with crumbs, grit and general kitchen mess without taking up much space. Where it really pulls ahead of a standard broom is hair. If you don't have pets, long hair, shedding rugs or home haircuts, you probably won't appreciate the difference as much.

For my house, it's become one of those things I reach for without thinking. I wouldn't go back to using a normal broom for everyday pet hair.

About the author

Poppy O'Neill is a Content Editor at Mumsnet and a mother of two. She researches and reviews the products Mumsnetters swear by, with a particular focus on home essentials like steam irons, vacuum cleaners and heated throws.

From a highly recommended retractable washing line to the best quiet fans money can buy, and Mumsnet's favourite dehumidifier to the steam generator iron that'll cut your ironing time in half, she loves to deep-dive into research and find the very best products on the market.