Hoover for elderly MiL

[Wotsitsarecheesy]

Can anyone recommend a hoover that might be good for a frail, very underweight woman in her late 70s who is unsteady on her feet?

I realise the best answer is for someone else to do it for her, but MiL is fiercely independent and likes to do everything possibile for herself. If we say we will do something for her, she will try and do it herself before we get there, on principle.

She is just home with a fractured hip and her hoover (henry type) is very old and too difficult to manage. She is going to get a cleaner for a few weeks, but absolutely intends to get back to doing everything for herself as soon as she is able (ie able to walk without her frame).

I am tying to set her up with new 'tools' to do the jobs she will absolutley want to do for herself, but I don't know what to suggest for hoovers. My traditional dyson will be too heavy and I don't really have experience of other hoovers. I think I need something lightweight, but maybe still freestanding in case she gets tired and needs to stop.

The best solution would of course be to persuade her to keep the cleaner, but I'm not sure her independence and her frugality will let her. And she'll still want one in the house for emergencies. No urgency for this as I hope we can stop her doing things for a few weeks yet, but any recommendations are appreciated.

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MNHQ

We bought MIL a Gtech Air Ram and she loves it. Again, arthritic and can't have anything too heavy. She'd been coveting them for a couple of years and her friend has one. We've got a shark and BIL a Dyson and we both commented that actually they are heavy for an older person to use.

Is she entitled to anything as a result of her injury? My mum broke her shoulder and she was entitled to something and she use that to pay for a cleaner. She employed somebody from church and when she was planning to let them go, we persuaded her that the woman needed the money and she was right to use her benefits to pay for the wages. She really likes to have the cleaner now and enjoys the company. It's as though she was given permission to hand over jobs.

I have bad arthritis in my wrists and could not manage my hoover any more. I bought a cordless Dyson and absolutely love it. I only empty it probably once a week, and we have cats. Also, the filter only needs rinsing once a month or so - we have a spare so it’s a quick swap. It is a bit fiddly to swap the heads, but I’m guessing she won’t be doing this any way.

A Eufy robot vacuum is the same ballpark price as the G-Tech. I must say as an ex cleaner who used clients' hoovers, the G-Tech was great, but a bit crap at corners and I always got cramp in my hand using it - and I don't have arthritis!

The Eufy is ace, and if she can use her TV remote, she'll be able to use it fine.

@ShoppingBasket , you've made my day. I don't often cry with laughter but the video about the Vileda brush has done the trick. 'As simple as hell'.
The chap's accent is one which is close to my heart, which may have helped.

[quote Zolrets]@MereDintofPandiculation. Can’t find a photo to show but yes, obviously not the entire hoover but the plastic casing that houses a fabric type liner. These parts separate out. The plastic is ok to wash. The fabric part less so as it takes longer to dry and gets smelly if it’s put back damp. And yes to the PP who mentioned that the clips can be insecure. On both the ones my mum had you have to be really careful that they are housed properly otherwise they spring apart.[/quote]
We have two of the fabric filters, so each has plenty of time to dry before it's put back in. Never needed to wash the plastic part.

Not sure what the problem with clips is. Agree you do have to make sure the lid of the dust container has engaged properly, but it's not difficult.

I do it outside due to the issue of the catches not being very secure and liable to pop out and risk spilling the contents. I empty my Dyson inside with no problem. Push down a knob to open the lid and drop everything neatly into the bin. Two pushes allows you to remove the container completely for a really good clean or to change the filter, but that doesn't need to be done often. Best to empty frequently and not overfill, but because it isn't messy to empty, that's not a problem.

We have a beldray cordless that's nice and light. My 9 year old can carry it upstairs with no problem so it should be light enough.

I'm not elderly but have joint problems and sometimes my cordless Dyson is too heavy for me so I wouldn't recommend one.
I also have a robot vacuum and I would recommend one.
The remote is like a very basic tv remote, start, stop, reverse, back to base.
Not complicated at all.
I'd also recommend a long handled dustpan and brush if she doesn't already have one.
A pp's idea of appealing to her social conscience and keeping the cleaner might also be worth a shot?