How to clean brooms and rags: some methods to sanitize them

Keeping brooms and rags clean is essential to deal with home cleaning at best; these are tools that must be kept sanitized, to carry out domestic cleaning in the best possible way.

The broom is a cleaning tool that we use every day since it is essential to remove dirt, dust and crumbs; as well as rags, that are essential for the household chores. It is therefore necessary to keep brooms and rags clean to promote their effectiveness. There are just a few simple steps to take care of the cleaning of these precious household tools. Here are some methods and tricks to keep the bristles of the brooms and the rags perfectly hygienic, making them last longer.

Remedies for washing and sanitizing brooms and rags

After using the broom we often find ourselves with encrusted bristles, or they are full of hair and dirt. Immediately after use, it is essential to beat the broom vigorously, preferably against the railing of the balcony or terrace, but obviously be careful, so as not to have problems with the tenant on the lower floor. Practice this operation carefully; if you live on the ground floor or in a house by yourself this will certainly be easier. Alternatively you can wear gloves, unscrew the handle and take only the part of the bristles; now remove the residues of dust, crumbs, hair through vigorous strokes, dropping the dirt on a sheet of newspaper. Then pass a wide-toothed comb between the bristles. Now you can switch to bristle washing with a mix of soap and hot water or a mix made with 1 liter of water and 1 tablespoon of ammonia. Nylon brooms can be washed with water and bicarbonate. Finally put it to dry in the open air with the bristles facing upwards, so as not to deform them. If you have bought a broom made with a broomcorn, you must immersed it in a solution of soap and hot water for a whole night. For daily maintenance, just rub the bristles hard on the hard soil of your yard and complete the cleaning with a jet of water, using the pump with which you usually water the garden. Then leave it to dry upside down on the wall.

As for the rags, you can wash them in a solution of water and ammonia; leave them soaking if they are particularly dirty, and then rinse them carefully. Let them dry in the open air and restore them only when they are completely dry, so you will avoid the formation of bad smells. Instead, dust clothes should be beaten out of the balcony or window, so as to eliminate excess dust. You can then wash them, after a couple of uses, with warm water and soap for the laundry.

Washing broom bristles and rags in washing machine

Those who prefer can wash the bristles of the broom and the rags in the washing machine; put in the basket a little detergent for laundry, bicarbonate and, if necessary, also a little delicate bleach, then start a cycle at 40°-50°C without spin cycle. Alternatively, you can use another method; moisten the bristles of the broom with the laundry soap, as well as the rags, adding if you can even some soapy sponges, like those used in the kitchen. Put everything in the washing machine and add a little soda and delicate bleach, and then always wash at 40°-50°C without spin cycle. Then let the bristles dry in the air facing upwards. Obviously you have to wash separately from the other garments and, once the washing is finished, check the filter and, if necessary, clean it. In this way you will prevent any residuals from dirtying or damaging the items you will wash in subsequent uses.