I was raised in a household so clean that you could eat off the floor.  As an adult, I also keep a tidy house, but I am definitely not as dedicated as my mother was, and I find cleaning truly to be a chore.  We live in a small apartment and storage is limited.  Every time I want to vacuum the floors, I must first gird myself for battle in the hall closet, fighting with the ironing board, the mop, and the umbrellas to rescue the vacuum cleaner from its position in the back of the closet.  Can you imagine my excitement when I finally met the Roomba iRobot?!

Although automation often disappoints, this is an application where I’m pretty sure nobody will complain that a robot stole their job.  This automated vacuum cleaner is a real ergonomic marvel and such a time-saver.  It vacuums hardwood floors, linoleum, carpet and rugs without a problem. The only challenge is the stairs.  With the push of a button, it vacuums a whole room independently while I run out to work or sit on the couch.  It even comes back to its home base for charging.

While there are various models, some of which you can program to start automatically, the most you will have to do is bend down to push the start button and get it going.  Ergonomically speaking it is efficient and it protects your body from the awkward posture and repetitive motions of manual vacuuming by simply eliminating them.  You can now vacuum the whole house without any lifting, bending, holding or push-pulling.

Madame Roomba, as we call it, now comes out regularly and our house always looks nice without much effort.