6Months50Pounds

Speaking as someone who gets a low dose of methotrexate every week for the rest of my life, "flipper baby" is going to be my new explanation for why me and my husband aren't having kids. No other explanation, just "flipper baby". LOL

I have sort of an unusual situation that you might be able to help with. I have rheumatoid arthritis, and it is currently affecting primarily my hands and shoulders. I have about 700 sq ft of tile, and about 650 sq ft of carpeting in my house. Luckily, no stairs.

Anyway, the RA makes gripping things pretty difficult- hard to close my hands and hard to hold onto things tightly. (I got my vacuums before I got sick, so I didn't know how important this was going to be.) My current vacuum (a Sanitaire Heavy Duty) is pretty heavy to drag back and forth over the carpeting, and even though I feel it does a good job on carpets, it is so hard to get the job done that I find myself not vacuuming as often as I should. When I use it on the tile, though, it just shoots things out the back.

So, I also have a Royal Airopro 2000 vacuum to use on the tiles. (It's the kind that has the stalk & hose and the vacuum follows around behind it.) This is also hard to use because I have to try to maneuver the little guy around behind me and it gets caught up on the cord and doesn't corner very well. It has flipped over on its back like a turtle at times and is generally a huge pain in the ass to use. There also is a sharp plastic thing that is attached to the main stalk that is supposed to hold attachments, but it mostly just cuts up my legs when I'm moving fast and accidentally get too close to it.

Mopping is difficult, too. Lots of gripping and shoulder movement- and I had one of those Floormates from Hoover I got years ago. I don't know if they have gotten better, but it is super heavy and trying to hold down the spray lever and run it back and forth at the same time is almost impossible for me.

So, what would you recommend? I'm thinking something that is lightweight, easily maneuverable and easier for me to use. I know nothing is going to be perfect in my situation, but there has to be something out there easier than this. I really thought a Roomba would be ideal, but it seems like not so much from other things you have said.

Thank you for taking the time to do these- it's very kind of you.

Can you recommend a good one? I have a feeling you are going to say Miele, but a Miele what? :)

Also, what kind of Roomba?