To really need a clean house

[abracadabro]

Just that really.
I need to vacuum. Badly. My floors are awful.
The catch... DD5 is autistic and cannot cope with the vacuum cleaner noise. My husband is overseas for a few weeks so he cannot take her out.
I know it's not much in the scheme of things, but I really want clean floors.

Ask a friend.

I’d do it in the blink of an eye. Take your DD out and it’ll be done in 15 mins.

@Laureline oh is that what DD5 means? Oops. She's five years old...

You could get a Roomba I’d you can afford it. Expensive though, but you can set it to go at night I think.

@Laureline I assumed she's aged 5, not 5th child..

Oh yes. DD is mouse sensitive too. I can vacuum normally as she is at school, or do upstairs when she is downstairs etc but she was off school poorly and the bits that built up in the hall was ridiculous. I was trying to sweep up but it is not the san band sends dust into the air.

I assume she has some, as she is number 5.. I think the OP means her DD is 5yo.

OP, just ask a friend. I would have no problem helping somebody out in these circumstances.

Not the same..

Doh autocorrect.

Thing is, you can't keep from exposing her to these things. She needs to learn the coping skills and can't if she's not exposed to the noise. My youngest was distressed by the hoover but Hoover's himself now, he still doesn't like the noise but he's learned how to cope.

Or get a roomba, I'd love one of those things.

@gamerchick we have regular therapy sessions and have desensitisation programs in place. At the moment, vacuuming the house is not appropriate.

www.neatorobotics.com/gb/

I’ve got a Neato.

Would she use the hoover herself? So that she is in charge of the noise.

Could you get a cleaner to come for 30mins? You could just take her to the park

@Moltenpink she hides until the table if it's pulled out of the cupboard, she wouldn't get close enough to hold it

@Blazeisamonster I assume I'd need to let the cleaner in? DD would not cope with us letting someone into the house and going to the park/for a walk.

oh is that what DD5 means? Oops. She's five years old

Means either age or number. Easy to work out from context usually.

You can sweep a carpet a bit. It's not ideal but it will get some stuff off.

I don't have one myself (too many stairs in our house) but I know friends who do who swear by them.

We use a carpet sweeper, old fashioned but effective - it picks up animal hairs and so on and was quite cheap at around £16.

Ask a friend if they'd be able to either hoover or watch dd in the garden for a little while so you can.

Longterm a robot hoover might be a good idea.

My ds also hares hoover but will hoover himself so worth bearing in mind but sounds like that's a few stages away.

Oops, sorry, I was imagining you surrounded by 5 children and not being able to clean your house

Would a local teenager be able to babysit her a couple of hours during the day (including a trip to the garden for vaccuming) so you can do a clean? Or not possible?

Definitely try a carpet sweeper. We had one when I was a child and they def worked ok.

Not sure if she engages with toys but maybe get her a toy one. Or a toy vacuum. DS had one as a child. He loved it.

@Laureline she doesn't cope well with people that aren't myself or my husband at this stage. But hopefully in time things like that will be an option.

I robot would be great in your circumstances. You could set it to go when she is fast asleep, or for when you are out. They are also (ime) quieter than a normal vacuum. They are no good for stairs and can get stuck on furniture and eat wires but if you could get your floors clear then you could potentially go for a walk and come back to clean floors.

That's it! I'm ordering a robot vacuum!

Have you tried ear defenders rather than just headphones? Or better still, ear bud headphones playing music under ear defenders?