I’m Stealing My Sister-in-Law’s Sweeping Trick (It’s So Brilliant!)
If you have a furry family member, you know the drill: Pet hair gets everywhere. Over the years, I’ve tried everything to tackle it all. Robot vacuums don’t play well with my tri-level house. My Dyson vacuum fills up faster than I can empty it (and then needs cleaning, too). And no one in my house has time to crawl around with a lint roller.
On a recent visit to my sister-in-law’s house, I spotted her doing a cleaning trick with her broom I’d never seen before that managed to pick up strands of hair off her floor. It was brilliant, and I knew I needed to give it a try.
What Is My Sister-in-Law’s Broom Trick?
It’s simple: Spritz the broom with a cleaner before sweeping. When I asked her why, she shrugged and said, “It helps with the hair.” Turns out, the reason it works has less to do with the hair itself and more to do with static electricity. Pet fur picks up static charges from rubbing against carpets, furniture, and fabric (or maybe that perpetually squashed dog bed). That’s why it’s so stubborn to sweep up.
Moisture helps neutralize those static charges, while surfactants (the cleaning agents in products) improve contact between the broom and hair — so more strands actually cling to the bristles instead of flying away.
What Happened When I Tried My Sister-in-Law’s Broom Trick
Back at home, I had to try it. I grabbed my Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner, which is safe to use on my floors, misted the broom bristles, and swept. It wasn’t exactly magic — the hair still skittered across the floor — but when I scraped the broom along the dustpan’s teeth, I was shocked: a ton of hair had clung to the bristles. Normally, next to none sticks, which makes chasing hair into the pan feel like a never-ending game of tag. So yes, this little spritz absolutely helped.
A Few Takeaways
Spraying cleaners — even just on your broom — means residue will end up on your floors, which can make surfaces slippery for you and your pets, introduce chemicals they might lick or step in, and even cause dirt to build up in spots where the product collects.
Instead of using store-bought cleaner, moving forward I’ll stick to a safer option: a light mist of water and vinegar. It has the same static-neutralizing effect, avoids chemical worries, and costs basically nothing. Just remember that vinegar is not suitable to use on natural stone or hardwood floors, so for those types of surfaces, you might want to stick with just water.