Hoovering can be uncomfortable and can make your back ache. What can happen is that you stand fairly still and overuse the arms – pushing and pulling with your arms, making loads of effort. This leads to bending forward, often putting strain on the lower back. Here are some ideas to experiment with:
- Make the handle long enough so that you don’t need to bend as you hoover
- As you hoover, step or rock forward and back – a bit like doing a dance – and the hoover handle will just move with you
- Reduce your effort and let the hoover do the work. Make the suction right for the surface. If it’s too high, you have to make an effort to move the brush; if it’s too low, then you have to go over the surface more times.
Hoovering is my least favourite chore. And that’s worth noting because if you dread something, then you tend to tighten up before even starting it. So I have a little chat with myself to think that it might not be that bad. And I sometimes plug myself into some music to dance as I hoover. It’s so much better that way.