In feng shui, brooms, mops, and other cleaning tools are often considered inauspicious when left visible. When used properly, they can sweep away negative energy from a home or business. However, if handled improperly, they may also sweep away positive and auspicious energy. For this reason, it is generally advised to keep them out of sight once cleaning is done.
According to tips 29 and 86 from Lilian Too’s Personalised Feng Shui Tips (2005), exposed brooms are forbidden in dining rooms. Their presence is believed to “sweep away” the family’s rice bowl—symbolising livelihood and prosperity—and is therefore considered bad feng shui. This guideline can extend to electric cleaning devices as well. I suppose it’s time for me to tuck my robotic vacuum cleaner neatly under the sofa!
Another place to avoid leaving brooms in plain sight is the hallway. It is said that a visible broom there can sweep away your good fortune.
Interestingly, one of Lilian Too’s feng shui tips for deterring intruders is to place a broom upside down outside the home, leaning against the wall near the entrance door—never inside. This should be done during the night. In the daytime, however, the broom should be kept out of sight, as it is believed to “sweep away” visitors and opportunities.
Can you imagine my mum’s reaction when she saw that I had placed all my brooms together on a pallet in the garage? I had leaned them upside down against one side of the wall because they were dirty.
She immediately separated them and placed each one in a different corner. According to her, keeping them all together invites trouble to arrive all at once. For example, if one item breaks, another will soon follow—just like waiting ages for one bus, only for two to arrive at the same time! I let her rearrange them and haven’t touched them since.
This brings me to a personal experience. Two years ago, we went through a series of unfortunate events with our household appliances. Our two-year-old oven broke, and since it had already been repaired twice, we decided to replace it. Unfortunately, the new oven was too large to fit the existing space, so we had to get a builder to modify the cupboard.
Then, our boiler switch broke when a plumber came to inspect our faulty radiators, which weren’t heating properly. He mentioned the switch was already faulty, so we had to pay for a replacement. For nearly four days in December, we had no heating while waiting for an electrician.
Soon after, our outdoor light began tripping the fuse box. When the electrician inspected the house, we ended up replacing the fuse box entirely, and he discovered that some of the external cables were burnt—a serious hazard. We later replaced the outdoor light as well.
Not long after that, our five-year-old dryer broke and had to be replaced. Then our nine-year-old fridge failed. We bought a new one, only to find it was slightly taller and didn’t fit the space, so we had to install a new cupboard. A few months later, the new fridge broke too! After three repairs, we eventually received a replacement.
Was all of this simply coincidence—appliances reaching the end of their lifespan? Or could it have been influenced by poor feng shui, subtly contributing to this string of mishaps?
What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
