The handle does fall apart a lot. The sweeper comes in a box the size of the sweeping mechanism on the bottom - 12-14"?? - so it's obvious right away that the "broomstick" is going to consist of several short lengths of pipe attached to each other. Unfortunately, only the pipe that attaches to the sweeping mechanism actually screws on. The other lengths are just supposed to fit into each other. Now, the instructions do say to push the segments together firmly before screwing the pole onto the base. I don't know if my daughters actually did this when they assembled the sweepers - I bought 3, one for each floor - but I added tape afterwards and it didn't really help. I haven't messed around with them that much or called in the cavalry (my husband) either, but I will say that while the handle is on, the sweeper does work better than I expected, better than a more expensive model by a different mfr that I tried in military billeting. It picks up well on the carpet, grabbing crumbs and dust, and it cleans out easily. You do have to be careful not to tip it - say, on the stairs - or stuff will come out, which is annoying. If they would make the handle in one piece or with screw-on segments , I would give it 4 stars, and if they added some spill protection I would give it 5. But I still haven't given up on the handle. If we come up with a fix I'll post again.
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