Thailand Brooms and Brushes
Thailand brooms and brushes are a subject that has intrigued me for a long time. Weird? Not really. I like the simple and efficient way they complete most tasks taken on. It’s also intriguing to think their design and materials have probably changed little since their first use.
Thailand Brooms and Brushes – A new broom sweeps clean
They both sweep clean, old or new. The two most common types of brooms and brushes are what I call the house brush and yard broom. Self explanatory, but very different cleaning tools. Straightaway you can see the yard broom has a much longer handle and stiffer sweeping fibres. The house brush is shorter and has much softer strands.
The house brush is adept at cleaning tiled floors – ideal for Thailand’s more modern homes and outside kitchens which tend to have floor tiles laid down.
The handle is bamboo and the brush strands made from dried jungle/vegetation grasses. Much as they were a few hundred years or more ago. The handle and brush head are joined by a tightly wound plait. That may be the only difference from their original assembly, whenever that may have been.
For the life of me, I cannot understand why these brushes are not widely available in the UK. More and more homes in the UK now have wood laminate flooring and for years, tiled floor bathrooms and kitchens. This type of brush would sweep clean its rivals in most household floor cleaning duties. Excuse the pun.
The yard broom is excellent for tackling driveways, rough terrain and pathways – dry leaves, small stones and twigs. Again the design is simple and the materials readily available in Thailand. The handle and brush fibres are both made from bamboo. Hence, its robust sweeping action. The UK has similar sturdy yard brooms but for pure simplicity the Thai version is hard to beat.
Do Thailand’s brooms and brushes intrigue you as much as they do me?
Wing Yip Chinese supermarkets in the UK sometimes have these excellent brushes on sell.
yes I have always liked the Thai brooms and how easy it is to sweep the tile and ceramic floors and patio floors with them
Martin – I’ve never seen them on sale in the UK but I’ve never heard of Wing Yip either. Makes sense that they would stock them. Thanks for the heads up.
Peter – The house brushes are great on tiles and perfect for getting into tight spots. When I’m at the village house I make it my job to sweep the house clean a couple of times a day.