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When cared for properly, your broom can last a long time.
Make Your Broom Last
by Pat Veretto
Whether witches ride them or you use them to sweep out bad spirits, brooms can last a long time.
You might never have thought about taking care of your broom, but not buying yet another one will save you money. How many brooms have you bought in your lifetime? Just a quick estimate will do. Think of how much you might have spent on brooms over your life, then think of how nice it would be to have part of that money back. I can't return your money already spent, but I can show you how to keep from spending so much in the future.
If you take good care of your broom, whether it's made of broomcorn or synthetic fibers, it will last you years and years. Here's how:
- Never stand a broom on its bristles. Hang it upside down on a rack or nails.
- Clean it when you've used it for real dirt on garage floors or sidewalks. Use a bucket with warm, soapy water, swish the broom in it several times, and then rinse with clear water. Hang it to dry.
- Keep your broom out of the sun. The sun will break down the bristles, no matter what they're made of.
- Don't use it to sweep water or other wet things. Use a mop or a rag to clean up wet spills. Brooms will deteriorate if they're wet too often and are not allowed to dry thoroughly.
- Choose a broom according to the surface on which it will be used. You might want to have two brooms. Use one for smooth surfaces and one for rougher ones.
- Natural corn brooms are usually of better quality, but they're more expensive. If you have a lot of linoleum or tile floors, a synthetic broom with fine, dust catching tips may suit you better. If you regularly use a broom on a garage floor or sidewalk, a corn broom will do a better job.
Broom mythology trivia:
- Did you know that taking your old broom to a new home is supposed to bring bad luck?
- If you lay a broom across the doorstep, witches won't cross it.
- If you stay sitting and raise your feet for whoever is sweeping the floor, you'll never get married.
- Don't lean a broom against the bed because the evil spirits will cast a spell on it.
- But... brooms, especially those made from birch, will sweep out bad spirits.
- Do witches fly on brooms? In their imaginations, yes. Where it comes from is not established, but many say that witches (and others) hallucinated flying on broomsticks, with the help of either a fungus on bread, a growth on birch trees, or something unknown.
No matter; save the broom you have and you'll have more money to put in the bank, and that's no myth!
Pat Veretto is a work-at-home grandmother who has homesteaded, homeschooled, and happily lived frugally most of her life. She currently freelances and is a moderator of The Dollar Stretcher Community.
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