Broom in the context of "Rake (tool)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Broom

A broom /brm/, also known as a broomstick, is a cleaning tool, consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, glued hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan.

A distinction is made between a "hard broom" and a "soft broom" and a spectrum in between. Soft brooms are used in some cultures chiefly for sweeping walls of cobwebs and spiders, like a "feather duster", while hard brooms are for rougher tasks like sweeping dirt off sidewalks or concrete floors, or even smoothing and texturing wet concrete. The majority of brooms are somewhere in between, suitable for sweeping the floors of homes and businesses, soft enough to be flexible and to move even light dust, but stiff enough to achieve a firm sweeping action.

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👉 Broom in the context of Rake (tool)

A rake (Old English raca, cognate with Dutch hark, German Rechen, from the root meaning "to scrape together", "heap up") is a broom for outside use; a versatile horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, or tines fixed to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, and in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and to make furrows, mounds and levelling, removing dead grass from lawns, and generally for purposes performed in agriculture by the harrow. Depending on purpose, their materials and form will vary greatly.

Large mechanized versions of rakes are used in farming, called hay rakes, are built in many different forms (e.g. star-wheel rakes, rotary rakes). Non mechanized farming may be done with various forms of a hand rake. Rakes can be a mechanical component of a Threshing machine.

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Broom in the context of Bristle

A bristle is a stiff hair or feather (natural or artificial), either on an animal, such as a pig, a plant, or on a tool such as a brush or broom.

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Broom in the context of Cleaning tool

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Broom in the context of Besom

A besom (/ˈbzəm/) is a broom, a household implement used for sweeping. The term is mostly reserved for a traditional broom constructed from a bundle of twigs tied to a stout pole. The twigs used could be broom (i.e. Genista, from which comes the modern name "broom" for the tool), heather or similar. The song "Buy Broom Buzzems" from Northern England refers to both types of twig. From the phrase broom besom the more common broom comes. In Scotland and Bulgaria, besoms are still occasionally to be found at the edge of forests where they are stacked for use in early response to an outbreak of fire.

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Broom in the context of Feather duster

A feather duster is a cleaning tool that is typically made from a wooden dowel handle onto which feathers are wound with a wire. The feathers are most often 14 to 32 inches (36 to 81 cm) long. Some dusters have a retractable casing instead of a dowel handle and these are typically used by rack-jobbers and truck drivers who need to clean store shelves, and can retract the feathers into the handle to avoid damage.

Feather dusters serve the same function as soft brooms or brushes, except that they are only meant to remove loose superficial dust from delicate surfaces (such as paintings and papercrafts) or around fragile items (such as porcelain and glassware). They are effective in cleaning tight areas, or areas where there are many odds and ends. The individual feathers are flexible and can reach into gaps and crevices without disturbing the surrounding, and the tiny barbules on the feathers themselves that act as "fingers" to collect and remove dust particles.

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Broom in the context of Scrubber (brush)

A scrubber (German: Schrubber), is a type of wide brush with a long shaft used for cleaning hard floors or surfaces. Unlike a broom, which has soft bristles to sweep dirt away, a scrubber has hard bristles for brushing. It may therefore be used wet, with water or cleaning fluids. Around the head of the brush there may also be a removable floorcloth or mop, either soaked in water for cleaning or dry for wiping dry. However, these days other cleaning implements tend to be used for such purposes.

In North Germany and in sailor's language, a scrubber is also called a Leuwagen, hence in large firms or offices a cleaning party is sometimes jokingly called a Leuwagenballett ("scrubber ballet").

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Broom in the context of Shaker broom vise

The Shaker broom vise is a specialized production vise that made the normally round broom flat to make it more efficient for cleaning purposes. The Shakers' invention revolutionized the production and form of brooms; in the process greatly expanding an industry in New England.

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