Popular Types of Brooms

When it comes to broom bristles, artificial tends to work better overall than natural bristles. For example, corn bristles break off easily and can become moldy if wet whereas nylon bristles won't shed or get bent out of shape.

An angled broom is one of the most common. These brooms have angled bristles to efficiently attract and reach dirt in tight spaces, like under your kitchen cabinets or in living room corners.

Corn brooms have rough, natural bristles. Though used indoors, they're best for sweeping off your front porch or other hard surfaces. Since these are rough bristles, you won't want to use them on nice hardwoods that could scratch.

Push brooms aren't used to sweep dirt towards you, but rather by pushing dirt and dust particles in a motion away from the body, to collect dust and dirt into one pile. These are great to use indoors if you have a large room to cover, but they're also commonly used in outdoor spaces like a porch or garage.

Electric brooms verge between being a traditional sweeper and being similar to a vacuum. These tend to look like a hybrid between the two. Some are manual and simply pick up dirt and store it in a compartment on its underside. Others are rechargeable and act as like an upright dust buster.

The original brooms were considered whisk brooms. These would be made by wrapping bristles together with stitching going around the broom's head. Though still used in homes, many of these have been replaced by their longer lasting and more efficient followers.