7 Helpful Tips for Cleaning Up Broken Glass

We have all broken glass before. Probably many times. Maybe just last month: you were having an animated conversation and knocked over a wine glass. Another time you dropped a bottle of salad dressing. And most recently, that empty bottle missed the wastebasket entirely. What we are trying to say? Broken glass happens. Of course, it's easy to clean up the big shards (pun sort of intended!). The hard part is all the tiny pieces and the little shards that you may not notice until your bare foot comes in contact with them. Ouch! The first thing you should do is carefully pick up the larger pieces of glass that you can actually see. Then you can reach for a broom and dustpan or try one of the following suggestions. Here are the best things you can use to pick up the remaining glass shards.

1. Protect Yourself.

First things first: Put on rubber gloves and shoes. No one likes walking on broken glass, especially without proper protection. If there are any children or animals near the mess, check them for injuries and then remove them from the area until it's clean.

2. Remove the Big Shards. 

Use your gloved hands to carefully pick up the biggest pieces and place them in either a paper or a double-layered plastic bag. Check the floor as far as fifteen feet away from the point of impact--you'll be amazed at how far glass can fly.

3. Vacuum. 

Suck up any remaining fragments with the hose attachment of your vacuum. Check underneath nearby furniture, as well. Don't, under any circumstances, use a broom; tiny shards can get stuck in the bristles and come loose later, making an even bigger mess. If you must use a broom, throw it away afterwards and get a new one.

4. Potato

Grab a raw spud or really any other larger root vegetable, cut it in half, then press the cut halves into the glass.

5. Slice of bread

Glass pieces will stick right into a soft slice of bread, plus it has a nice, wide surface area to cover a lot of ground.

6. Tape

This one is no surprise, but tape will pick those little glass pieces right up. Use the thickest, widest tape you can find to avoid cutting yourself — packing and duct tape work really well.

7. A damp (folded) paper towel

Fold a paper towel a few times, then dampen it before pressing into the glass shards. Make sure it’s folded thick enough that the pieces won’t go through the paper.