Even if you can afford something that you can use, is it possible for it to cost too much anyway and you don't bother?

[Anonymous]

So I have a two-story house, and for each story I have a robot vacuum that keeps my extensive carpeting, which is actually quite expensive and beautiful, extremely clean. It's incredibly interesting to watch, and it is very efficient and doesn't consume any of my time. I like these things; they weren't very expensive. However, at the moment I have nothing for my stairs at all, which is also carpeted. I need something. The units that are available for my stairs are ridiculously expensive. I'm not sure if they work all that well or not, but at least one of them, which is over $1,500, seems to work quite well. I still haven't purchased it, even though I can afford it, because I just balk at the idea of spending $1,500 on something like this, even if it's worth it. It just simply seems outrageously expensive to me, and I don't think I would enjoy it, and I would feel sort of stupid after I spent that much.

Should I buy it anyway?

[OneViewpoint]

Here's a thought. Just buy a simple $200 upright vacuum with a beater bar or a motorized stair and upholstery attachment. It takes about 3 minutes to vacuum a staircase. Why get yourself involved with expensive technology that may or may not work well and is probably prone to failure. I'm a minimalist. It's not the money so much as the aggravation and time complex shit tends to require.

[Asker]

This is a pretty long staircase and I don't feel like I want to be on it for very long because it's easy to trip. That would be a very bad fall. Additionally, I really don't want to take the time because the time is the most valuable thing I have. So I want to come up with some automated message of cleaning it but not so it takes a couple thousand dollars to buy a unit like this Even if I can't afford it

[Asker]

I mean I have a house keeper who cleans it now but I don't want her on those stairs either. I'm afraid she might get hurt. So I'm just going to wait and see if the price is on these units go down. I hear what you're saying about them being technologically complex, but even the complexity is easier to deal with than falling.

[Staximus]

Do you have one leg or something? How hard is it to vacuum stairs

[Staximus]

3 minutes is nothing to be quibbling about, it's insignificant

[Asker]

@Staximus I just checked, and I still seem to have two legs, but look, housework's not my thing, number one. Number two, I'm far too busy to spend time doing menial chores. Number three, there's a non-zero chance that I would fall, and I'm not really willing to put up with the consequences of that kind of accident. So yeah, I need something to automatically do it.

[nolabels]

Yep, cost versus usefulness is a good thing to keep in mind.

[Staximus]

You need something for your stairs for what? To vacuum the carpet? That something is you buddy, grab the fucking vacuum cleaner and get to work

[Staximus]

Lazy bastard

[Staximus]

Or get a one-story house if you're so afraid of stairs

[Staximus]

It's only one flight of stairs, how long could it possibly take to vacuum

[Asker]

I am indeed lazy, and also technically a bastard, so you aren't wrong about this.