Do you (Does one? Should I?) wash brooms?

[stealthsquiggle]

Sweeping the kitchen floor this morning, it occurred to me that the kitchen broom was so revolting that it was probably making the floor grubbier rather than cleaner.

Is this one of those things like maintenance washes that all of MN the whole world does and is judging me for not doing? I have dumped it, and the other equally revolting one, in a bucket of Flash and left them out to dry, but should I have been doing this every week or something, and is there a "right" way to wash them?

I blame my mother for my slovenly ways

I have one from Aldi with rubber bristles. It is brilliant, very easy to wash and excellent at getting the place clean. More than a traditional one I think. It even said on the label you could sterilise it but that is far too ott for me!

Yes - I do wash mine, in hot soapy water, rinse and leave to dry.

buy a roomba and then you don't need a broom

Blimey! I'd never even thought of that, but I suppose you're right.

However, I'd use a brush with the intention of sweeping all the bits up, not necessarily making the floor cleaner. I'd use a mop and flash or something to actually clean it.

fortunately our kitchen floor is a dark brown pattern and doesn't show the dirt

We do have a Roomba but he's not well (and presumably the same thing would apply to his brushes at some point anyway?)

I too would (do) use a mop and flash for actual cleaning of floor, but it occurred to me that I have, in 20+ years of house occupation/ownership, never washed a broom before. I have binned a few, but mostly because their handles broke after someone fell over them, but never washed one .

roomba brushes are really easy to clean. They come out without any tools and I wash in the sink weekly and the amount of dirt that comes out of it is amazing. I use antibacterial hand wash usually because I'm lazy and that's what's by the sink. The water comes away black and you can feel the grease. so I hate to think how dirty a broom would be that never gets cleaned.

I expect it is a brush with soft nylon bristles, and probably a plastic head. It can and should be washed, it will fit in the sink with a squirt of Flash or similar GP cleaner. Give it a minute to soak and squish it up and down. It is easily rinsed, and will dry quickly.

The one that is used for the porch and front doorstep here is also used to wash the bins, in the same way, after they have been hosed out or swilled with a bucket of water. I suppose if you had significantly dirty bins you might want to keep a separate one for them.

Yes, always wash my brooms, well, all of my cleaning utensils: dustpan etc.

I do it around every 3 months, as my floors get moped a lot, so brooms stay clean, and I never sweep through something wet on the floor, always wipe wet spots on the floor with paper towel first anal.

Old washing up bowl, or the mop bucket, very hot water, washing up liquid and bleach. Give the brush a good plunge in and out a few times (bit like the old laundry sticks) rub is against the bottom and sides of the bowl. Then leave to soak, then leave to dry.

Yes, I do only spend around £3 or 4 quid on brooms, but I feel doing this does lengthen their life somewhat.