Does anyone know of a quiet vacuum? I would like to vacuum the house without my little man crying.
Hoover LINX cordless stick vac AKA the cheerio getter. Its pretty quiet, gets the job done and my little man loves to try to push it around.
He'll get used to it. Try finding him a toy one so that he can help you. My toddler likes to hold the vacuum and have power over it. He has stopped crying, unlike my neighbour who has a toddler with a fear and she has just stopped vacuuming!!
Both of my children had the same issue. My daughter (who is still very noise sensitive at 6) will still go to her room when I am vacuuming. They got a toy one and it helped significantly. I second the bathroom hand dryer thing. Also the automatic toilets still bother my kids. Another thing that helped was letting my children vacuum. I didn't turn it on the first few times, but then they started pushing the button when they were ready. You don't say how old he is, but if he is old enough to try to help, let him. Or just carry him while you are vacuuming. Good luck...They generally outgrow it.
I HATE the sound of vacuum cleaners and have never found one that doesn't hit the pitch that drives me bonkers, but Dyson makes one that fairly quiet for several hundred dollars. Just keep in mind that it still whines so if you son has an issue with pitch or the whole combo of big, loud machine sucking up everything is part of the freak out, it might not help and it will set you back a small fortune. That said, my hubby does the vacuuming for me and despite our daughter freaking out at every loud noise, he's managed to be so silly while he's doing it that she tries to find bits it misses or in corners for daddy to suck up. Basically at first he'd hold her while he vacuumed and then he'd get out the hose attachment and have her hold out her hand to feel the air. Then he'd show her what it was doing and say stuff like Isn't it cool! how it just ate up all the dirt? She'll still get upset when something gets stuck in the hose and motor's noise changes, but it's not a trauma, she'll just cover her ears. p.s. avoid bathrooms with hand dryers, these are the same type of noise, but even louder because they echo so bad.
