So I'm saving a few bucks by going to pick up a case of flooring I need in Sarasota rather than having it shipped here. And guess where Nessentials is located? Yup. Am I really going to spend my savings on brooms? Or will I also be stopping at the factory outlets, including Lindt Chocolate? I think we all know.

If a group of gardenwebbers want to go in on a bulk purchase there's St. Nick's (check floor sweeps). I swear I wasn't looking for this. I was getting rid of some bookmarks as my kitchen slowly gets closer to completion and one of the bookmarks was to a cabinet outfit that sells these.
I'll admit I didn't notice it when I first bookmarked it, but now of course it jumped out.

Here is a link that might be useful: St. Nicks

Wow, this thread keeps going! Just to weigh in, I love my Harper broom from Amazon. Best 15 bucks I've spent in a long time.

I do covet the enamel dustpan, too. Haven't pulled the trigger on one of those, yet.

kksmama- my guess is brooms.
Deedles - thanks for the link to the Riess dustpan, adding it to the list.

Kksmama - you could come back & give us a Nessentials trip report! Full horse hair, split horsehair? Which dustpan brush?
If you go, could you check out the street & garage brooms? I need a good broom for my garage & patio.

Costco used to sell the Harper...no longer, googled them, and out of business :( loved those brooms... soft and durable

Wow ! Who knew brooms were such a hot topic!?!? Only on GW!

I was saving up for a Romba since my new wood floors show Corgi hair daily; now I have to save up for German engineering in the broom department!

Perhaps the clever Germans have engineered a broom that doggies can push?

Great minds think alike--I've been wondering if one was made for kitties.

This post was edited by gnancy on Wed, Sep 18, 13 at 9:17

I did skim through all the posts, but would appreciate if someone could confirm which broom and source was deemed "the winner" for daily sweeping in a typical home w/ wood floors. And did I understand correctly that you order the broom head & the handle separately? I am ready & willing to spring for a tool that is best for a job I do at least once every day! Thanks!

Thought I would weigh in on the German brooms!
In Germany most people live in apartment buildings. With lots of stairs and terrazo floors. Germans are a tidy bunch, so, each week one apartment is assigned the job of Kehrwoche, or cleaning the hallways and entrance ways and steps. (in southern Germany anyway) They even have adorable little wooden signs that hang on your doorknob so you know when it is your turn!

All that brooming and mopping requires good German-made supplies. All the better if they come in small sizes so your kids can help!

I now regret not bringing a broom back with me, but I have used this Vileda duster for the past 15 years! It is going strong! Swivels and lays flat so it gets under furniture. I love this thing! The head goes into the washing machine and it also comes with a thin mopping head.

Found it. Placed my order. People at Nessentials must be scratching their heads wondering about the flurry of new broom customers.

People at Nessentials must be scratching their heads wondering about the flurry of new broom customers

I was thinking the same thing! Which one did you get?

BTW, I'm getting my own for me, but I'm also going to get one for my son and DIL as a house gift! (new condo (to them), with hardwood floors). Boy, will they be surprised to get a broom!

I had *every* intention of getting a broom and duster, conducting field research, and chatting up the Nessentials folks on behalf of GW. Got a great parking spot right in front of the store. And saw this:

I just wanted to report my Gondoletta arrived today and I've already given it a whirl. It really got ahold of all the cat hair puffs! (A couple of the cats were really interested--followed it around, but one seemed scared of it.) I'm ready for the big leagues now--the split horsehair one from Nessentials...and a few incidentals. Already had my order prepared.

sjhockeyfan, I ordered the split horsehair version, the varnished handle and the wire brush cleaner. Total w/ shipping was $72. I wanted the dustpan & brush combo, but resisted - for now. Expensive broom, but the cost-per-use makes it a reasonable purchase for me, if it works well. I dread sweeping w/ my current (lousy) broom and it's a pain to drag out the vac for those little clean-ups. I can't wait for delivery!

What's the wire brush clearer - is that for cleaning the broom itself?

Looks like I will be looking into these brooms! I posted on the other broom post about making my own broom using my own source of horse hair. Ten horses in the field. Could be a pretty nice broom! LOL

Karen

LOL! DH thinks I have awakened the OCD monster by starting this thread :)

LoLo, you sure have started a fire storm. It amazes me that I had never known about horse hair for a broom. It really is a great product! BTW, Nessentials should be paying you commission for starting this thread!

Ok, you guys have me interested now.

I have hardwood floors and I also have an overabundance of black lab hair, cat hair, and dust. Which broom is best for me???

Another one late to the party. I thought - seriously how interesting can it be to talk about brooms - turns out not only interesting but fun also.

I bought a new broom when my kitchen was finished and with cats and hardwood floors a good broom was essential.My broom is a cheap one from Canadian Tire with nylon (I assume) bristles but they have the split-ends and they are the best thing for picking up cat hairs.

I need a new one and the split-hair one from Nessentials is a definite contender. I hate vacuuming but have always loved to sweep. I like seeing all the little bits of dirt and fur which is something you don't see when vacuuming.

Gnancy my Gondaletta came yesterday too, It is a hair and dust magnet! Just wondering if your ordering more floor brooms from Nessentials,,,,,I was thinking my Gondaletta was all I needed for floors....used on my ceiling fans too and great for central air grate in my hallway, so much easier than vacume....and better!!!!

ilene-84, I know--I already used it again today. It seems like a dust mop only better! In answer to your question, yes, it seems I've got the fever, and now I think, no, I NEED the split horsehair broom and wire comb from Nessentials. I was about to place my order when I saw your post. And, I'm not one to buy on impulse. I'm not sure if I'm glad or sorry I saw this thread. (I would never spend that much on a handbag, which I think is funny in itself.)

Gnancy I think I have the fever too....was thinking of getting either the horse hair or harper broom from amazon, but I do need that wire comb.....it's all so confusing, and to think last week I thought my old broom, vacume, and Bona cleaned my floors well.

GNancy, LoLO, and Ilene, Do you think the Gondaletta would do a good job of cleaning my crystal chandy, or would it be too big?

Khallock, I have two dogs and a sweet kitty. The split horsehair brrom from Nessentials is awesome. I will be ordering the Gondaletta and probably a dust pan. I never particularly cared for sweeping or brooming the floor but that darn new hh broom actually makes it fun. Sweeps like buttah!

So why would one need both the Gondoletta and the split horsehair broom? Wouldn't the Gondoletta serve all purposes?

kksmama - thanks so much for the field research effort. I hope the Nessentials detour didn't keep you from getting some Lindt chocolate.
I, too, enjoy sweeping but pretty much only sweep outside. I don't even own an "inside" broom and now I can hardly wait to get all this stuff & start sweeping my new floors (currently covered with cardboard).

Holly-Kay I would be afraid of using Gondaletta on my crystall chandelier.....but what about using a hedgehog ( meant for tabletops) ?? I know my old feather duster didnt work well.

sjhockeyfan's I plan on using it more before I decide if another broom is needed, problem may be I'm not use to its shape...verdict is still out.

Now a question that for sure doesn't belong in kitchens, but does in brooms....does anyone have a broom good for weekly dusting of upholstered furniture (couches and chairs), I'm always looking for an easier way of doing what I don't enjoy...cleaning!!

It was total fail from a shopping standpoint, Romy. No time for chocolate! I took the kids with me (hoping to get them sweeping lessons), hit up Trader Joe's for lunch (not enough prepared food choices for children), and then spent the rest of the day at the fabulous Ringling estate. So it was a culturally enriching day, and I have many reasons to go back to Sarasota soon. Getting a broom might not be #1, but it is on there!

Holly-Kay --> They have a goats hair duster for delicate sufaces like the chandy.. But I think any of the dusters should work. I may dust the chandy first and then the other places

They have a bunch of the Redecker brushes at Crate & Barrel (including the oh-so-cute hedgehog). I just bought the duster below -- it's goat's hair, and is so soft I couldn't stop stroking it in the store! I got it for dusting LEGOs. I would totally use this on my crystal chandelier. Plus it's $10 cheaper at C&B.

Here is a link that might be useful: Round goat's hair duster

OK, after three days of DEEP cleaning - read: my Mother was coming to visit - the Gondaletta broom has gotten a serious workout in our house.

Here's my report.

The Gondaletta was awesome in sweeping under toekicks and around the sideboard - really did a nice job and made that easy peasy. No dust bunnies remained. We started calling it the "magic broom" b/c it was handy in so many places.

I don't have a horsehair broom to compare in terms of getting the dust out of the cracks of the hardwood floors? I used it for regular sweeping but don't necessarily know if it got everything from the cracks of the hardwood floor. It did really get everything down to a very fine dust.

It is a little unweildy to then try to use it to get stuff in the dustpan. So, I went to using a hand brush to then sweep it into the dustpan. The swoopy sides of the Gonda started hitting the dustpan and wouldn't give me a tight push in there.

I did find that it was a tiny bit tougher to get really tight to a corner - versus a sharp angle broom. The bristles get all around there, but it takes a few tries to be sure you've really hit the deepest angle of the corner (b/c the side bristles sort of hit first.) I have the Harper too and that doesn't have an angle either so it couldn't help.

Does the horsehair one you all ordered from Nessentials have an angle, can't remember? That would be a nice partner to the Gondaletta.

The only drawback I've found is that it sort of keeps a layer of fine dust in and around the broom body. It has sort of a spread out bristle pattern. After a while, it would release the dust as I was sweeping dust, so sort of defeated the purpose.

I had to go outside and give it a whack or two to get that all out. That's fine if I was in the kitchen, but when using on the top floor of our three-story colonial, it was a little irksome. I sort of put a plastic bag around it and gave it a few knocks to clear the dust. Not sure I could avoid it but just thought I'd share with the other BSIs (Broom Scene Investigators.)

One unexpected bonus - because of the shape, you can actually also turn it into a push broom. I found myself in a few spots where that really came in handy - and it gave me a little more leverage to sweep with gusto!

I have a dustpan with teeth on it (just Libman) but I think I need the wire broom cleaning brush for the Gonda b/c it's structure makes it so that it can keep the dustbunnies up in there.

I had all the rugs cleaned in my home in a post-reno push, then the upholstery cleaned, so it basically required me to move all the furniture in all the major rooms. Lots of dust and sweeping.I used the Gondaletta, the Harper and then a Libman hand brush and feel like we accomplished a lot. Some of the construction dust in hardwood cracks just takes old fashioned water and scrubbing - that's a sad fact, but hopefully, sweeping will help maintain my current (and surely temporary) pristine environment! :-)

And, I still want a hedgehog. :)

P.S. Gazooks! I just looked and realized our broom discussion has 139 posts! Hee, Hee!

This post was edited by akcorcoran on Thu, Sep 19, 13 at 18:26

Can I throw another hat, er, broom into the ring? I ran across this under "Dusters" on Nessentials today and was intrigued. It's called a cabinet broom, but I don't see any other details. There's something about the shape that makes me want to laugh. It reminds me of something, but I can't think of what. Anyone care to comment? (Please do)

It reminds me of something, but I can't think of what.

A "wheel-o"? (depends how old you are whether you'll know what that is, but here's a picture).

It reminds me of something, but I can't think of what.

A "wheel-o"? (depends how old you are whether you'll know what that is, but here's a picture).

{{gwi:1932243}}

P.S. 2 While perusing Nessentials and all the brooms that I strangely want now, I saw this Cabinet brush. How in the earth do you think you use that? Is that for inside, outside, up top???

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet Broom

Oh my gosh, gnancy - that is SO funny - look what I just posted! I meant to post it right after my other one but have forgotten to hit "Submit message."

This is scary - maybe brooms are parasitic to the brain?!

By the way, I was talking with my mom who has now arrived and showing off my Gondaletta broom and said, "I was on this forum... Did you know that Germany.?" and she said without a beat, "is the cleaning capital of the world?!!! YES!" Apparently, it's ingrained in their culture! She said she could have served a formal dinner off the floor of her German father's closet - he was that focused on keeping it clean!

:-)

I don't know about parasitic, akcorcoran, but I think it's addicting. I keep checking for the next post.

I can't figure out that Cabinet broom either. Maybe it comes with instructions? Or, maybe it isn't really used for anything and they just threw it in there to confound us.

My daughter is 8 turning 9 has been watching our broom experiments at home. She poked around the nessentials site that was open on the ipad and has asked daddy for her very own child broom for birthday so that she can do some chores. I didn't know whether to laugh with glee or be appalled. DH promised her 50 cents for every time she sweeps the front entry and courtyard.

Why pay? Tell her she can have a "cleaning internship"!

Ahhh that goat hair duster looks to be just the ticket for cleaning my chandy.

My split horsehair broom arrived! I ordered a couple of other little items, including the one shown. I don't know what I was expecting it to be, but one thing I was expecting was tiny. Can't wait to use it, though. (I hope it doesn't get lost, will have to figure out something.)

That is SO cute! What is it used for? The cuteness factor is nearly enough without being useful!

It is called a Schmutzhaken, or dirt hook. Has a yellow handle and best broom ever!

Where can I get this broom?

OMG.. I come to gardenweb after ages and what do I see but the thread I started all those years ago. We still have our brooms and love them.

This site sells the Redecker Outdoors/Shop broom. Good for concrete, so it would be perfect for my (it's a fourplex I rent at) long driveway. If only I could persuade my elderly neighbor to stop hosing down the driveway and just let me sweep it. A work in progress. :-)

US company Harper Brushes has some great push brooms: http://www.harperbrush.com/Products-Harper/brooms.htm

Canadian site carries it: HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/URL?SA=T&SOURCE=WEB&RCT=J&URL=HTTPS://WWW.LIVINGROOMS.WS/PRODUCTS/REDECKER-OUTDOOR-SHOP-BROOM&VED=0AHUKEWIK9_SGSATSAHUQWWMKHEZUC7WQFGGGMAA&USG=AFQJCNE_ZBC1TFII3ALJLYR-WDCU-XE4HW&SIG2=MJ42RZAM1XQRNSHAQGJM0A

lalithar - are you gwlolo?