I have a Roomba. Every night, just before I turn in for bed, I turn on the dishwasher & ask Roomba to please vac the floors. He's very amicable & each morning he's cleaned the floors & returned himself to his closet. He's been a member of our family for 4 years now & has more than earned his keep! Rooba also helps my cleaning lady. She dusts & he vacs. I hear her talking to him...I think they've become good friends.

/tricia

Your poor cleaning lady... Vacuuming is the fun part of cleaning!

I don't think a Roomba would be good for fine dust like flour. What it does pick up probably wouldn't be filtered very well and might end up going into its motor or into the air. But, I don't know what kind of broom to recommend. I have a red Velida Tango broom and matching dusbpan that works just fine for me. I used to see (at Winn-Dixie) a broom that had "wings" that folded out to make it wider that I thought was neat. Can't remember the name of it, but I think it was too heavy, despite though its unique design. I don't like to vacuum the kitchen floor because mine is always wet and/or has spilled food on it and I none of my vacuums are ever that hungry or thirsty!

For a Broom....a real BROOM...I prefer a straw broom.
But for kitchen floors, I prefer an electric broom for the cheerios and pretzel bits and then a disposable wet pad on a swiffer for the rest of the "stuff" on the floor.
But after you sweep it up....then you have to do the dust pan thing...I prefer an electric broom.
Linda C

I have a choc lab that does a great job of vacuuming up any bits and pieces of food that hit the floors.He is very efficient,never leaves my side while I'm cooking.He is always happy to help out.

Shelley

You are too hard on Roomba, Bobby. He's a wonderful helper & does an excellent job. His brushes pick-up sugar, flour, hair, & chunky stuff. Granted, we are pretty neat people & don't have pets nor kids living at home. Because of Roomba we only have to do a regular vac once/month. Roomba does a better job than we do at getting underneath furniture & the beds. His brushes also do a better job along baseboards than a regular vac. I'll not tell him you said unkind words. :)

/tricia

Heck, I don't know. I don't like to vacumn, I have a no wax type of floor and there's just too many things to go around with a big bacumn. I tried a swiffer and hated it, the darned thing swivelled all over the place. I just use a $3 broom I got at the dollar store, which replaced the last $3 broom I got at the dollar store.....

Annie

I want a Roomba!

I'm gonna have to start watching Woot...

Man if a Roomba got loose under my beds it would most likely sputter and die.

I like brooms wiht soft bristles so it doesnt *fling* litter and whatever else is on the floor. Straw brooms do that to me. I have laminate floors.

But I prefer an electric broom. Just wish I could find one I love.

I have a swiffer vac but the battery won't hold a charge enough to do the kitchen floor and 1 small bathroom. Guess I need a new one.

I have an indoor/outdoor area rug in my kitchen to cover the crummy vinyl floor(it's a rental)and to catch all the stuff I spill(water,flour,crumbs,flying spatulas,did I mention water?). I just sweep with a straw broom daily and let DH do the 'deep' cleaning since he's in charge of all regular vacuuming.

We use both a soft bristle type from the hardware store as well as these palm leaf brooms which I love best of all for both patio and kitchen. They cost about $2.00 and last for months. Those here below are a little worn but we use them outside when they get like that.

One year I cut one in half and took it in my suitcase to Canada for my daughter and we put it back together at the other end. That together with a long-handled dustpan .....also in a suitcase....which is the only kind used over here when sweeping patios and floors. My daughter still had both the broom and dustpan in use when I was there last summer.
For some reason I've never found a long handled dustpan on Vancouver Island.

SharonCb

I use one I bought at Target that has synthetic bristles that fluff out at the end. It does a reasonably good job between vaccumings, but I often take a well wrung out microfiber cloth and run it along the base of my cabinets to get those little bigger-than-dust-smaller-than-grain things that are always showcased after breakfast when the sun shines on them...

I've tried electric brooms and a couple Dustbuster-type products, but they didn't work well enough to be worth the hassle of dragging out, plugging in, charging, etc. Felt the same about the Swiffer in terms of buying, storing, and discarding all those pads.

I'm jealous of the Roomba but I think if we had one it would choke and die on a Lego or something. lol

I use a dustmop instead of a broom. Lowe's has a mini version of those rectangle dustmops like they use in schools. The one I have is 24 inches wide I think. I've had one for two or three years and I love it. I can get the kitchen done much quicker now.
This looks like mine.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes - dust mop

I use an old Swiffer type mop handle and attach damp microfiber cloths to it. I can do a room with 3-4 cloths and then toss them in the washer. Good for the landfill.

I've been wondering how that V-shaped electric broom works. The problem with my kitchen is there's so much furniture and obstruction to go around. Table legs, 4 chairs, prep table, display cabinet, dog dish area, recycle & dog food containers and bar stools. Square or rectangle electric brooms don't get it all. I'm not sure a Roomba would either. Although I'd like to turn the little guy loose on my kitchen floor every night and have it nice and neat for us in the morning, I'm thinking that it would be bumpin and grindin all night and still not get it done. I don't even want to think what kind of havoc our yellow lab would cause it! Right now I use a combination of sweep (with a straw broom) and vacuum. The V-shaped electric sweeper looks like it would get around the variety of furniture pretty well.

I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to sweep my kitchen floor in between vacuuming sessions. Ok, maybe not that lucky, because with as much as my dog sheds I have to vacuum every other day or so (he's a Chow/German Shepard mix, very fluffy). :) For those rare occasions when I need a broom, I have an O-Cedar I've had since college.

I'm really liking the roomba idea, but I doubt it'd be able to handle the dog hair around here.

I use one of my many vacs when the floor needs doing LOL
Mom however had a little Eureka rechargable stick vac but it was a pain to open and empty. I got her one of those Shark rechargable sweepers at a liquidation place for $17 and she really likes it a lot better. The little dustpan just slides out and you dump it in the trash. No filters no fuss. Picks up all sorts of things

I have one of those black synthetic bristle type brooms, with the bristles cut on an angle. I liek it a lot. If I push down on it, it will get under the front edge of the cabs, appliances, etc. Since the bristles aren't too stiff, they get down into the grout of the much-hated hard tile floor.

I do get out the canister vac frequently, toobut for a broom, I recommend that one. You can get them anywhere.

Here is a link that might be useful: something silly

I like a horsehair brush. I like horsehair and I have had my current broom for about 7years. I wash the broom every so often and it still looks new. I got mine from William Sonoma many years ago and they no longer sell it. I found a similar one from the website below in a variety of sizes.
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Horsehair broom

I've got a big dustmop with a long rectangular head that I bought at a janitorial supply store 24 years ago. It swivels (from side to side, but isn't out of control), has a quality wooden handle the head comes off for occasional washing.

I just "drive" it around and it easily goes everywhere and doesn't kick up dust and pet hair like a broom does. It's big enough that it doesn't take as many passes as one of the little Swifter things.... plus I've never had to buy anything else to go with it. I keep it parked in the laundry room and use a dustpan every day or so to sweep up what it has gathered.

Grace

Meant to add that for crumbs/food there is nothing like a Jack Russell Terrier or a German Shepherd.... of course in the long haul they cost a little more than a Roomba or broom, but the benefits of unconditional love can last about 14 years or more!

Just have to add - We had a little beagle named Morgan, who for 15 years kept the kitchen floors free of anything! Of course, the flip side was that all our furniture and clothing was covered with tri-colored dog hair..It was a small price to pay for her company. After 4 years I still miss her, and would do most anything to have her back -

Thanks for all your thoughts on cleaning my grubby floor, LOL! No Roomba here, and no dogs (allergies), so it's a regular broom that I need. Sharon, you always have such interesting Canary Islands alternatives! Now I want a palm frond broom.

We keep this lobby broom and dustpan in the pantry to sweep up what the cats don't get first.

--Doug

Problem with brooms is that they don't look good, and you have to put them away and take them out when you need them.

So I "re-decorated" one so you don't always have to put it away.

My Betty Broom :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjASDxt63I0&feature=PlayList&p=FB5C270EEC3A5CC1&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=117

dcarch
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I love my Fuller Brush kitchen broom. It has shorter bristles then a regular broom so that it will get under the toe space around the cabinets. Fuller also has a long handled dustpan that I really loved. It finally rusted after about 15 years. I guess I will have to do a web search to find out how to get a new one as our old Fuller Brush Man has retired years ago. I wonder if there are still some going door to door?

I will only have a synthetic bristle angle broom. My current ones were about $5 USD. Cheap but they get corners and fine dust. Helps if you have a place to hang it so the bristles don't take a bend from standing in a corner.

: )
lyra

I had an opportunity to use a short rubber bristle broom and for pet hair it was fantastic. Not sure how it would do with flour. I know it was bought at the Big E fair but I just googled rubber broom and saw similar ones.

dcharch,

haha.

Christine:
Did you find a Broom yet?

The best I've found for what you are talking about ,
is a small Pushbroom, with Natural Bristle Hair.
I used one 13 inches wide for my Pizzeria.

All together I have about 5 or 6 , different sizes, up to 36 inches wide.

Used them for Construction work and
one I have for putting a Brushed Finish on Concrete Paving.

You may find them in a Janitorial Supply or Department Stores.
Maybe someone else can help you there ?

They last so long, that I haven't bought a new one in years,
as mentioned in a previous Thread by,
Homepro and Dedtired
LOU
PS:
I also have a Commercial SS Tank type Vac but that is for big Jobs.