Hardwood flooring comes with a massive list of benefits, but sometimes cleaning it can feel like a monumental task. Caring for your hardwood floor might seem easier than something like carpet, but that's not to say you don't have to take care of it.
Depending on the wood used to make your floor, you may have to take extra care.
Using a vacuum cleaner on a hardwood floor can be a pain - having to lug it around and run it over each part of the surface - and sometimes you just need something smaller and more versatile to reach all the places you'll need to, especially if your flooring covers a wide area of your house.
So you need a new broom! Or maybe you already have one, but it doesn't do its job well enough, and you're looking for something specialized, something perfect, something you can use for years that makes cleaning your hardwood floor easy. But when looking online or in stores it's difficult to figure out what the best one to buy would be.
Do you go for something sturdy with stiff bristles, angled bristles, or rubber bristles? Do you want a broom with a dustpan attached? Or maybe you go with something smaller and wide-angled? Sometimes all the different options can be overwhelming.
That's where this article comes in - we've compiled a list of the 5 best brooms for a hardwood floor that we could find. With each one we've included a short pros and cons list to give you a simple rundown of their key features to help you make the purchase that is right for you.
We've also included an extensive buyers guide at the end to run you through what to look out for when broom shopping, as well as a handy FAQ section to answer some of the questions you'll no doubt have.
So don't fear! There is a broom out there just perfect for your hardwood floor, let's find it together!
OUR TOP PICK
It's no surprise that the best all-around broom is made by a company called TDBS (The Dustpan and Brush Store). Their company name tells you a lot about what you're going to get with this broom - a simplistic, reliable product that is sturdy and you will serve you for years. Here is a rundown of its features.
It is a soft-bristled broom with a strong coated metal handle. We've found coated metal handles are strong and durable but lightweight enough not to be a pain. This broom's head is made of thick plastic.
Its handle also has a 4 piece design which means you can make it longer or shorter depending on your cleaning needs.
We found this broom to be sturdy without the weight of some other brooms. Its bristles are perfect for indoor use, soft enough to tackle dirt and dust.
They're flagged, a term which here means they are frayed, allowing them to intercept dust and dirt more easily. This is a great broom if you're looking for something simple and versatile.
Pros:
- Soft hair - easy pickup of dirt and dust
- Frayed bristles - for better cleaning.
- Weight - not a heavy brush.
Cons:
- Brush head - plastic brush head feels flimsy
EDITORS CHOICE
If you're looking for something with rubber bristles then this might be the best broom around.
There are many benefits to buying a broom with rubber bristles, mostly that they are more durable than other brooms and less likely to get warped after years of usage, they also allow you the versatility of a broom that can be used for surfaces such as hardwood floor, but also others like carpet or outdoor.
This rubber bristled broom by Lanhope is a great, versatile cleaning tool to have and perfect for your hardwood floor.
Rubber bristles are more versatile than others and offer you the option of easily tackling pet hair, liquids, dirt, and dust. Rubber bristles are among some of the best for cleaning up pet hair, as the rubber material is good at making the hair stick or ball up within the bristles.
If you have pets and are tearing your own hair out trying to clean up theirs - this is a broom that could make your life easier.
This broom has a handle that is an adjustable handle that assembles from four bars that connect. It's larger than some of the other brooms we've found, but allows you a lot of reach, especially if you have a big area to cover with lots of different corners to reach.
We recommend this rubber brush if you're looking for something that can double up as a cleaning tool for multiple different jobs, or if you have pets that shed a lot of hair.
Pros:
- Pet hair - great for cleaning pet hair
- Sturdy - very strong, rubber brushes last for a long time.
- Strong metal handle - reliable and durable.
Cons:
- Assembly - more awkward to assemble than other brooms.
BEST VALUE
If pet hair is your concern, you'll probably want something more specialized than some of the other brushes above, so we've included this broom as one for you to consider.
Identifying pet hair on a hardwood floor is usually the easy part, what's difficult is trying to clean it all up without it getting matted in your broom. That's where the FURemover Broom comes in!
This product is made of 100% natural rubber, with fine bristles made to attract fur in a way that other brooms can not. We found it to not only have a sturdy brush head but one that has been made specifically for tacking pet hair in the quickest way possible.
Running this over a hardwood floor with pet hair is light and easy, and pet hair gets picked up without having to go over it several times. We noticed that although it's made specifically for pet hair, it might also work well for dust, dirt, and liquid.
It also comes with a Telescopic handle that extends from 36 to 60 inches depending on what you need, making it versatile and adjustable.
We found this broom to be impressive at doing exactly what's advertised, though you may want to look for something else if you're not a household that is troubled by pet fur.
Pros:
- Pet Hair - made specifically to combat pet hair.
- Lightweight - feels amazing, no effort to use over hardwood flooring.
- Rubber Bristles - which are sturdy and versatile.
Cons:
- Plastic brush head - which is sturdy, but still has a possibility of breaking in time.
RUNNER UP
If pet hair is your concern, you'll probably want something more specialized than some of the other brushes above, so we've included this broom as one for you to consider.
Identifying pet hair on a hardwood floor is usually the easy part, what's difficult is trying to clean it all up without it getting matted in your broom. That's where the FURemover Broom comes in!
This product is made of 100% natural rubber, with fine bristles made to attract fur in a way that other brooms can not.
We found it to not only have a sturdy brush head but one that has been made specifically for tacking pet hair in the quickest way possible.
Running this over a hardwood floor with pet hair is light and easy, and pet hair gets picked up without having to go over it several times. We noticed that although it's made specifically for pet hair, it might also work well for dust, dirt, and liquid.
It also comes with a Telescopic handle that extends from 36 to 60 inches depending on what you need, making it versatile and adjustable.
We found this broom to be impressive at doing exactly what's advertised, though you may want to look for something else if you're not a household that is troubled by pet fur.
Pros:
- Pet Hair - made specifically to combat pet hair.
- Lightweight - feels amazing, no effort to use over hardwood flooring.
- Rubber Bristles - which are sturdy and versatile.
Cons:
- Plastic brush head - which is sturdy, but still has a possibility of breaking in time.
RUNNER UP
Maybe you're in a household prone to spills or mud. Perhaps you have expensive hardwood flooring that needs something tough to scrub away the first signs of trouble? If this sounds like you, then this Floor Scrubbing Brush from Lanhope might be the one for you.
Compared to the other Lanhope product mentioned in this article, we found this scrubbing brush to be tough and layered with stiff bristles. This is a brush made for difficult jobs like mud caked onto your hardwood, or stains that require soapy water and something tough to scrub.
It is 42.5 inches long with a steel handle that is as sturdy as its bristles. Whilst we found this broom a little hard to assemble, it's a great addition to your cleaning tools which is likely to last a long time because of its materials.
It's also fairly lightweight for its durability, so it's not as if you'll be buying some gigantic monster of a broom.
Pros:
- Stiff bristles -allow for deep scrubbing of surfaces
- Use with water - something that is much more difficult with softer bristles.
- Steel handle - durable handle which is likely to last you for years.
Cons:
- Stiff bristles - while also a pro, are not the best for dealing with fine dust or first.
Best Broom for Hardwood Floors Buying Guide
So that was our extensive list of some of the best hardwood floor brooms on the market today!
Several different aspects were considered when creating this list, so we've put together an explanation of each of these for you to help you better understand our choices.
Additionally, this short buyers guide will allow you to make your own choices better, by highlighting some of the most important things to think about when it comes to searching for a broom.
Bristle Type - Soft bristles, Rubber bristles, and Stiff bristles.
The bristles of your broom are the part that does the work, they're the part that makes or breaks how effective your new purchase will be, so you must check what kind of bristles you're buying as well as what they're made to do.
Soft bristles are best for fine dust or dirt, these are perfect for the smallest buildups that you will have a harder time picking up. If you buy a broom with soft bristles you're sure to find something lightweight that will deal with dust without much hassle.
Stiff Bristles are better for bigger cleaning jobs. Say your hardwood floor has garbage to clean up, or broken glass, it's much better to have a broom that has stiff bristles as they're sturdier and stronger to pick up solid pieces of material.
Rubber bristles are the best for multiple surfaces or pet hair, but they also give you a tool that doubles as a mop. If you've spilled liquid on your hardwood floor a rubber bristled broom can clean it up in a way that other bristles can't.
Whichever you decide to go for, it's important to understand what different bristles can and cannot do. if you're looking for an all-around, we recommend trying to find a brush with bristles that are somewhere in between soft and stiff.
Handle
Handles can make or break the comfortability of your broom, so it's worth considering them before buying. Many brooms come with metal handles which are sturdy and more durable but can be weighty and difficult to assemble.
Likewise, others come with plastic handles that are lighter but can break easily.
We generally recommend you buy a broom with a metal handle that is easy to assemble and store.
Flagged Bristles
When looking at the kind of bristles that your broom has, it's important to check whether or not they're flagged. Flagged bristles mean that they're frayed, this allows them to more easily pick up fine dirt or dust.
If you're looking at a broom and it doesn't say flagged bristles, this could mean a much lower quality product that will be less effective at dealing with fine dust particles.
It's worth noting, however, that if you're looking at rubber bristles they don't have this same requirement, so it doesn't matter so much.
Your Home
This is a section to remind you to consider the space you have at hand to clean. The nature of your hardwood floor, as well as who or what makes it dirty is important when looking for the perfect broom.
Does your household have a lot of pets that are bound to shed hair? or maybe you have kids who are active and go outside, so you need something that will combat dry or wet mud?
No matter what your household is and who lives there, there is a broom suited for it, but before you go looking it's worth considering what are the main examples of cleaning you'll have to be doing.
Rubber Brooms are best for pet hair, soft bristles for general dust or fine dust, and stiff brooms are great for tough spillages or dirt like mud. Consider how you'll have to use your broom before purchasing it, and you'll make sure you get something right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a handy Frequently Asked Questions section, to tackle some of the most important questions others have had when considering brooms. From bristle type to wood floors.
Is it OK to use a broom on hardwood floors?
Of course, it is! We recommend using a broom over vacuum cleaning sometimes, as vacuum cleaners aren't always the best at gathering large sums of dust and dirt, or tougher stains/mud.
What is the best thing to sweep wood floors with?
Generally, soft-bristled brooms are great for general sweeping of wooden floors, though depending on the surface area and what it is you have to sweep up, different bristle types might be better.
Is it better to sweep or vacuum hardwood floors?
This is a question that depends on your individual situation, but when it comes to flat stretches of hardwood floor, we recommend sweeping with a fine bristled brush first and then using a vacuum cleaner to dispose of the dirt and dust picked up.
If you have dry mud stuck onto your hardwood floor, we recommend using a stiff-bristled brush to scrub away at it and then a vacuum cleaner to finish up.
Is wood flooring a good idea?
Wood flooring is great depending on what you want in your home. It is far more durable than other types of flooring, and providing it is well looked after, can be much less maintenance than other kinds of flooring.
Wooden flooring is also great for style and can come in a variety of different types to fit the aesthetic vision of your home.
