When I had the free 'spring clean' of my flat following the asbestos removal fiasco in Spring last year, I have been contemplating employing a domestic cleaner.
I kept putting it off because I enjoy being alone and I find the prospect of a weekly invasion daunting.
I have found the solution - a robot vac.
iRobot Roomba 780 review - Vacuum Cleaner - Trusted Reviews
It is pricey - £488 - but that is the equivalent of a human cleaner for 2 hours a week for 6 months, and the robot can operate numerous times a week.
It arrived yesterday and I have used it today after an overnight charge.
I have had one problem so far - it went under the wardrobes, where no hoover has been for years, and so the accumulated fluff filled the bin and it switched itself off, whilst still under there!
I cursed a bit getting it out but hopefully, now that a decade of fluff is gone, it won't happen again.
It isn't as noisy as a conventional vac so the 30 minutes it took to vac my lounge wasn't annoying.
I recommend it for us elderly disabled folk. If you are still capable of dusting, window cleaning and such like, this gadget does the 'heavy' job of vacuuming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=2hpnBhMUFds