On Saturday night, a large glass bowl rolled off my drying rack and onto the kitchen tile. The tidal wave of shattered glass sprayed over 10 feet away in iridescent bits. Even after its shockingly loud initial crash, the glass continued to crackle and pop in an eerie white noise. Once I got over the shock, I followed the broken-glass-clean-up tips Carolyn and Christina from the Good Housekeeping Home Appliances and Cleaning Lab have given our Test Kitchen.
1. Never, Ever Use a Vacuum: Trying to suck up the glass will ruin your machine!
2. Start with a Broom: Sweep up everything you can and dispose of the pieces in a paper grocery bag. Be sure to carefully shake off pieces stuck in the bristles and dustpan into the bag.
3. Finish with a Slice of Bread: This is such a cool trick! Take a slice of soft sandwich bread and press it into the floor, the way you would press a stamp onto a stamp pad. The dust-like particles that can't be swept stick to the bread. Continue pressing until the bread is coated with glass. I used 4 slices for a 10-foot-square area.
As you can see from this photo, the bread trick really works. I didn't have to worry about leftover shards. And I got to try it again Sunday night, when one of daughters dropped a glass. Do you have any neat tricks for picking up broken glass?
