BobinPgh wrote:
^^^^^ NOOOOO! DO NOT get a Roomba!
My mother has one and we stopped using it after about a month. It sounds like a toy train and drives me nuts and it does so for hours. That, and it really does not clean carpeting well at all. If you have to make a lot of noise, you might as well the get carpet as clean as possible.
I suggest the Panasonic I linked above as it is less than $100 and consider investing in a central vacuum system for the long term. Yes, it may cost $1000-1600 but so would a Kirby (which is actually also one of the better choices as they don't sound as obnoxious). When you sell your house, it is a selling feature and you can recover the cost. Also, central vacs work really well on pet hair with the hard surface attachments as well as the power nozzle.
Other possible choices might be the "classic" Hoover and Eureka uprights that your mother probably used that have the soft bag and the large blower and have a lower "note" than the bagless uprights they make today. Unfortunately, it will probably be a used vacuum. Eureka does make them new under the commercial Sanitaire label but you have to buy them through janitorial supply houses and they are expensive.
The other alternative is to hire Merry Maids and have them vacuum when you and the kids aren't there.
Here is a link for Kenmore Panasonic vacuums too.
Link for Kenmore vacuumLOL ok that's good to know about the roomba. I'm planning to go into a vacuum store and listen to them before I buy anything. I'll look into your suggestion.
SteelMaiden- my son who really reacts a lot to vacuums, does wear noise-cancelling headphones (that help him in other situations) but they don't seem to help. I'm not sure what exactly it is about the vacuum cleaner but I
think it's not just the volume- it's something about the 'consistency' of the noise.
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Mum to two awesome kids on the spectrum (16 and 13 years old).