To Select Brooms.—Select a broom of light-green color and fine straw. It wears longer and gathers fine dirt that coarse straw would pass by. Choose a flat broom, not a round one. Shake the broom, and choose one which is not loose, otherwise the straw will fall out. Be sure that there is no stalk below the thread.
Care of Brooms.—Broom straw when dry is brittle and easily broken. It is also stiff and wears the carpets. Hence before using a new broom set it in a pail of boiling suds and let it stand until the water is cold. Hang it out of doors to dry.
When not in use a broom should al ways be hung upside down so that the straws will fall apart. This helps to keep it in shape. Have different brooms for different purposes. Use the newest for the finest carpets, the next older broom for kitchen use, and the oldest broom for the pavement and other rough places. When through sweeping pick all the lint from the broom, shake the dust out of it, and rinse in hot water before hanging it up.
Make a pocket in which to hang the broom upside down.
Or put two large clothes hooks fac ing each other, or two nails, and hang the head of the broom between these.
Or drive nails through two large spools to protect the straw.
Or put up a ring on the wall and thrust the broom handle through this.
Keep the broom in a dry, cool place, away from rats or mice. Too much heat makes it brittle, and rats and mice will gnaw it when they can. Af ter a time the ends of a broom split and become sharp, and the broom gets out of shape. Wet it in hot suds, cut the split and broken ends straight across, and press it between weights to restore it to shape. A new broom
sweeps clean because the straws are straight and the broom is square, hence a broom thus treated will sweep like new. When sweeping, sweep first with one side of the broom, then with the other, else it will get one-sided and have to be thrown away.
Care of Carpet Sweepers.—The car pet sweeper should be emptied every sweeping day, and never put away full of dirt. It may be opened over a newspaper. The brush should be tak en out and freed from dust and lint with the fingers or a coarse comb, rinsed in soapsuds, and dried before being replaced.
When the rubber tires on the wheels become worn they may not assist the brush to revolve with sufficient strength to do good work. New tires may be obtained from the manufacturers, or thick rubber bands purchased from a stationer or rubber-goods dealer may be substituted. Remove the old tires and adjust the new ones with glue or cement. New brushes may be ob tained from the manufacturer, and with care a good carpet sweeper should last a lifetime.
A toy carpet sweeper is a great convenience, as it may be kept at hand or easily carried from place to place. In the sewing room it is useful to catch all ravelings and small pieces from the floor without stooping. This may be done without rising from the chair. In the nursery it takes all bits of paper torn by children, about the dining-room table it catches crumbs, and all with little effort and without the need of using or even possessing a large-sized sweeper. The toy sweep er costs less than half a dollar and will save its price many times over.