When selecting the right broom for your shop or home use, it’s important to understand what applications you plan use it for and then select the right broom for the job based on those requirements.

It’s good to know upfront that all brooms are not created equal.

There are several factors that go into selecting the right broom:

• Bristle stiffness
• Flagged vs Unflagged
• Type of bristles

Bristle Stiffness

Bristle stiffness is one of the main attributes of a broom you need to understand to select the right broom for your needs.

• Fine or soft bristles tend to be longer and thinner which make them good for sweeping small, fine particles such as flour or dust.
• Medium bristles – Used for sweeping larger particles such as wood shavings. Used in wet and dry applications.
• Coarse or stiff bristles are short and thicker which gives them more strength for sweeping away large particles or for scrubbing. Use them wet with a cleaning agent to scrub the most difficult dirt away.

Flagged Bristles vs. Unflagged

• Flagged bristles – frayed at the ends which help the bristles collect small particles more easily.
• Unflagged bristles – straight and stiff which help with collecting larger particles and debris and also for your scrubbing applications.

Types of Bristles

There are many different types of bristles available but we’ll be focusing this article on just three:

• Tampico – Made from the stem of the Mexican agave plant and have a medium texture and are ideal for dry sweeping on semi-smooth surfaces. They are also resistant to heat, alkali, and acids.
• Horsehair – As the name implies, these bristles come from the manes and tails of horses. They are softer and more gentle on floors yet durable for long-lasting use. The material used in most Fine bristle brooms is Horsehair but Horsehair is also combined with other types of bristle material to make combination bristles for other applications.
• Synthetic – Very durable man-made bristles that are highly resistant to acids and oils. These bristles are flexible and won’t scratch floor surfaces and are used in wet or dry applications.

With a good understanding of how you will be using a broom combined with the the knowledge of what are the different types of broom materials, bristle types, and whether you need flagged or unflagged, you can select the right broom for your needs.

See the selection of brooms available at WoodworkerExpress.com in our Cleaning and Janitorial Supplies section.