The people in olden times used heath brooms which grew on the mountains and brooms also made of fabric. For the scrubbing they had brushes made of rushes. When brooms ran short they used to go and gather the heath which grew on the mountains. The way to make rush brushes is to get a bunch of rushes and cut them all the same size then double them down with strong twine and tie them into a bundle around a piece of wood.Philomena Murphy