Help for Bad Backs and Knees and Clean Floors!

I don’t know what it is about getting older, but the knees are definitely not quite as flexible as they used to be and I know from my young relatives that pregnancy also makes getting down to the floor more of a problem. If you just want a quick clear up and don’t want to have to do drag out the Hoover — and you certainly don’t want to get out the dustpan and brush — then I have been trying out something that you might find helpful. It’s a cordless Power sweeper that is rechargeable and also seems to be very helpful for a friend with arthritis in her hands who has also been trying it for me.

I always like to see British design and the Gtech Cordless Power Sweeper is based in Worcestershire and is apparently selling well to pregnant women and those of us for whom the floor has got rather farther away than it used to be. Lifting heavy items whether you are pregnant, or have a bad back, is not advised and sadly many household vacuum cleaners are fairly heavy.

The Gtech has the advantage of weighing only 1.6kg and is fully rechargeable so you are not trailing any flex either. It will not replace your vacuum cleaner as it has only a small slide out drawer to collect dust and debris, but it is invaluable for day-to-day light use and the manufacturers claim that it will even pick up glass — which happily I never had to put to the test.

What certainly surprised me is that having invested in a specific (and very expensive) cleaner for dealing with pet hair this small sweeper actually pulled up more hair out of the carpet and is much more efficient than I would have expected.

It will be useful for anyone with problems with their back, or bending, but the telescopic handle has a very unconventional shape – like a large firm loop -which makes it very comfortable to hold for anyone who has problems with their hands and its swivels easily to make the sweeper of a flexible in use. The friend with arthritis who used it certainly found it much easier to use and more comfortable than the conventional handle on a vacuum cleaner.

You should find it in most high street retailers including Argos, Comet, Currys, Lakeland and Robert Dyas but in case of difficulty go to their website at www.gtechonline.co.uk