If our main pick is unavailable or you want a broom that comes with a dustpan, we recommend theLibman Large Precision Angle Broom with Dustpan. I also washed each one in water. These chenille fingers are great at getting into cracks and holding onto lots of dust. The O-Cedar Anti-Static Premium Dust Pan is a decent dustpan, but its handle is uncomfortable and flour dust can slip underneath its rubber edge and remain trapped there. Even a great broom needs a dust mop to help finish the job, and the O-Cedar Dual-Action Microfiber Flip Mop is the best we tested. (We tried wiping down the most staticky dustpans with a dryer sheet, but didnt see any improvement. It stands about 50 inches tall, and the plastic-coated steel handle doesnt extend like others we tested. A few of the Libmans shortcomingsthe stiffness of its bristles, the clunkier dustpanmatter less when youre sweeping leaves and debris off a concrete driveway versus sweeping fine dust off a smooth floor. Merry Maids told us it doesnt use Swifferor any other disposable cleaning productbecause the costs just dont add up. In our survey, we found that most people want a handheld dustpan, not a stand-up dustpan. Thanks to its stiff, wedge-shaped lip, the Up & Up outperformed all the other setseven those with wider mouthsin our sweeping tests. All Purpose Large Angle Broom with Dust Pan, Quickie Professional Large All-Purpose Broom, Rubbermaid Comfort Grip Duster and Dustpan Set, OXO Good Grips Compact Dustpan and Brush Set, Legacy Household Chenille Microfiber Refill Pad, Scotch-Brite Microfiber Hardwood Floor Mop, Casabella Height Adjustable Butterfly Floor Duster, The Best Mop-Vacuum Combo Is the Bissell CrossWave, Pets Shed ConstantlyRobot Vacuums Keep Up. Combined with their flagged (split) tips, which excel at picking up fine, dusty debris, the bristles cleaned spills of cat litter, flour, and rice better than any other broom. Dont store one sitting on the rubber, because you can permanently warp that lip and ruin your dustpan. Too much heat will melt and destroy your microfiber. The Casabella excels, in spite of the Libmans wider head, because the Casabellas sweeping surface is exponentially denser, with more even distribution and a higher total bristle count. The Comfort Grip has a shorter lip that makes it harder to get dust into the pan, its ridge is shallower, and its not as wide, so the Professional Plus is the better of the two. It isnt effective at cleaning up flour or cat litter, and its dustpans lip is too steep. The longer, angled bristles make it easier to get into awkward corners, but the Libmans too-stiff bristles hamper the brooms ability to reach under furniture and into corners. Proper care and maintenance of microfiber dust mop heads is a little more involved, because microfiber is tricky to wash. Our expert from Merry Maids, Debra Johnson, has some advice on keeping it clean between washings: She takes the cloth outside or places it in a plastic bag, then shakes it to get dust out without releasing it into the air in your home. The brooms 2,880 bristles (by our count) are packed more densely and distributed more evenly than other brooms we tested. Some dustpans came with brushes; we tested those with their own brushes and with our broom pick. Dust mop cloths come in a few common styles: cut end, looped end, and chenille. Each side could pick up a teaspoon of flour, a test many dust mops failed. The Scotch-Brite Microfiber Hardwood Floor Mop has one of the best frames for easy cloth removal, but it has a terrible coverthe worst we tested. The Libman is only an inch taller than the Casabella, but its effectively 3 inches taller because the Casabellas 2-inch storage loop extends off the brooms end rather than being built into the handle.

Libman Large Precision Angle Broom with Dustpan, Our broom pick: Casabella Wayclean Wide Angle Broom, The best dustpan: OXO Good Grips Clip-On Dustpan, Runner-up broom (with dustpan bundle): Libman Large Precision Angle Broom with Dustpan, The best dustpan-and-brush combo: Up & Up Dustpan Set, Best dust mop: O-Cedar Dual-Action Microfiber Flip Mop, Libman Precision Angle Broom with Dustpan, Casabella Height Adjustable Broom with Dustpan, HDX 15 in. If you want a dustpan-and-brush setto clean small messes, or if you dont like using a big broom to sweep into a dustpanwe recommend the Target Up & Up Dustpan Set. You might expect that the larger a brooms surface area, the faster it will be at sweeping up messes. In a side-by-side comparison, we found that the Libman left more flour residue behind than the Casabella. In our tests, we found the blue chenille side to be the most effective at picking up the majority of the dust. Your mileage will vary based on the size of your space and how dirty it is. But we found that the polypropylene resin frame has two thin, hollow strips that make the head top heavy. The O-Cedar Power Corner Large Angle Broom is similar to the Angler Angle Broom, but has a wider head and stiffer bristles. The Swiffer is effective at picking up dust, dirt, and cat hair, but it cant get into cracks or corners as well as our pick because it uses flat sheets instead of a textured cloth.

Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. The best material for a reusable dust mop head is microfiber, because its the most effective at attracting and absorbing dust, and it lasts the longest when cared for properly. Leaving a broom sitting on its bristles causes them to bend, weaken, and even break, which shortens your trusty brooms lifespan. To test dustpans, we tried each one with our broom pick by cleaning half a teaspoon of flour and 1.5 teaspoons of cat litter. When we unpacked the broom, a ton of bristles fell out. Cleaning expert Leslie Reichert told us flagged bristles are best for indoor cleaning and dry messes because they pick up small particles much better and dont tend to leave much behind. In practice, the Casabella took fewer sweeps than the Libman to gather a mess into a pile and left less residue behind, which balances out the Libmans advantage of having a wider head. The short bristles also make it easier to hit the plastic frame on things like low kitchen cabinets, although that didnt often occur in our long-term testing. We scoured retailers and manufacturers websites and compiled spreadsheets of 95 brooms, 50 dust mops, and 70 dustpans. Full Circles Mighty Mop has a sturdy wooden handle and a well-designed frame that makes cloth removal simple, but its flat cloth wasnt as good at cleaning as chenille. The Rubbermaid Comfort Grip Duster and Dustpan Set is the best seller on Amazon, and its almost identical to the Professional Plus. We expect the microfiber to wear out before the velcro does. It doesnt have much of a ridge to keep debris in the dustpan, and the brushs soft bristles fling dust. The Bissell CrossWave plug-in is the best you can get. (We checked many times, and it fits on the Casabella as securely as our runner-up fits with its bundled dustpan.) They're less expensive and much more effective than other dust mops we tested. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. The Bona Microfiber Floor Mop has an extendable handle like the Simplee Cleen, but it also has the same problematic built-in Velcro. The cloth measures 17.5 inches across in the front, widens to 19 inches in the back, and is 5.5 inches deep. The O-Cedars cover isnt the easiest to removethat honor goes to the Full Circle Mighty Mop and the Scotch-Brite Microfiber Floor Mop, which have convenient folding mechanisms but were worse at cleaning. The OCedars head is about twice as wide as a Swiffers. Our picks head doesnt have as extreme an angle as some brooms we tested, but its angled enough to get into corners, around furniture, and into odd kitchen crevices. This design foiled our original water capacity testthe liquid flowed out the sidesbut solid debris was no problem. Tons of people own and love a Swiffer Sweeper, but we dont think its a good option for most. The Casabella Flip Floor Duster had the same problem as the Rubbermaid Flexible Sweeper: Its hollow frame didnt evenly press the cloth into the floor for a thorough wipe-down. The chenille microfiber surface is the ideal blend of dust mop materials, and its held up well over months of cleaning and laundering. Most of the magic is in the bristles. When its time to wash your dust mop headmanufacturers estimate a properly cared for head should last a few hundred washesfollow these directions: Now that you know how to take care of your cleaning tools, how do you know when its time to replace them with new ones? To test how long the covers velcro would last, we attached and detached the velcro more than 100 times. Reichert agrees, and told us shed never had much luck with a whisk brush teamed with a dustpan and prefers a very soft, thick brush. Good brush bristles have a lot in common with brooms: They should be synthetic, flagged, and soft enough to grab dust but not floppy enough to fling it around. It was also difficult to steer and didnt hold up well in the wash. I used three Swiffer sheets to clean 500 square feet of my apartment, while the dust mop handled the same mess twice (and only needed to be washed every two weeks). Rule one: Dont store your broom with its weight on the bristles. It took more than 14 sweeps to get all the cat litter into the pan, when every other pan we tested took six or fewer. Hang it up using the storage loop, or prop it against a wall with the handle facing down. Cleaning expert Leslie Reichert told us to pay attention to how the bristles are connected to the head of the broom: Dont be afraid to give them a tug. The expense of disposable products is not profitable for home cleaning services and may be a drain for homeowners as constant replacement is necessary. Whether it's finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we'll help you get it right (the first time). Its head is also thinner and sparser than the Casabellas, and its bristles stick out at odd angles, which makes sweeping a neat pile difficult. Both the dustpan and brush have matching holes to hang the set when its not in use, but theyre a little narrow and might not hang on thicker hooks. The white side was useful for making a thorough second pass. The Libman Precision Angle Broom with Dustpan is a smaller version of our runner-up pick. The Simplee Cleen Microfiber Household Mop was the second-best dust mop we tested, but it was only at its best when combined with the Legacy Household Chenille Microfiber Refill Pad, which it doesnt come bundled with.