A Flashlight Will Help You Clean Up Broken Glass - Here's How

If you've ever had a sliver of broken glass lodged in your foot, you know how uncomfortable it can be. In the wrong spot, those little nuisances can go from merely annoying to downright painful; that's something everyone wants to avoid. Nevertheless, messy glass breaks do happen from time to time, and cleaning them up thoroughly and safely can be challenging. So how can a flashlight help with detecting even the tiniest pieces of broken glass?

Darkening a room and then illuminating the floor at a low angle with a flashlight will make those little pieces of remaining glass shimmer, as well as cast a shadow along the floor. You'll have to get down fairly low to the ground with the light to get the best results, but it will be worth the effort.

Once you've identified all those itty bitty glass chips, you can use one of several different methods for cleaning them up. Chances are, you have most of them around the house. Some, believe it or not, are actually food items.

Before you get to the flashlight phase of broken glass clean-up, you'll want to get the larger pieces of glass out of the way. One of the big questions regarding cleaning up broken glass is whether or not to initially use a broom. Some sources say never to use a broom, and to discard them if you do since tiny pieces of glass can get stuck within the bristles and be redeposited upon the next use. That's not a very budget-minded approach, however, so a better suggestion may be to clean your broom thoroughly before putting it away. Cleaning your broom is something you'll want to do occasionally anyway.

Whether you choose to use a broom or to carefully pick them up by hand (wearing gloves), once you get the bigger pieces of glass out of the way, that's when the flashlight comes into play. After you've identified all the shiny little pieces of glass with your light source, you can move on to cleaning them up safely.

To safely pick up tiny bits of broken glass, there are a few solutions you likely have on hand already, such as bread. Yes, you can use a fresh piece of bread to clean up broken glass. Wearing gloves, simply press the bread onto the surface where your flashlight detected the glass, and the tiny bits will adhere to the food staple.

Low on bread? Use can use a potato cut in half in the same way. There are several other things readily found around a home that can be used for this purpose as well, according to The Maids. One of the tried-and-true methods is employing damp paper towels. Just like with bread and potatoes, the moisture will cause the glass to stick to the wet paper.

Other household items you can use to pick up any small remains of a glass break include tape and lint rollers. No matter what method you choose, after you've removed the little bits of glass, check the floor a final time with your handy flashlight before deeming it to be foot-safe once again.