Roomba! Any experiences?

IntlSet

Bonjour!
Jan 29, 2006
12,369
63
Hi ladies,

The last thread was on Roombas v. Dysons, and it's well over one year old... thought I would make a new one, especially as there are new models out there (like the Pet Series).

Any experiences?

I have two cats, a 800-square foot loft with hardwood floors... does this sound like a good fit for me?

Also, I don't really get how it works. Do you program it to the dimensions of the room you want it to vacuum?

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i think it would depend on the configuration of the room...as to how effective the roomba would be, but for solid surfaces...i just bought one of those industrial dust-mop type things, it just takes a few minutes to do about 3000 sf, and it gets the dog hair better than a vacuum

i was at costco, and i saw them sweeping the aisles with one of them...and i figured if it kept the floors clean at costco...it would work for my house!
 
I have a roomba I named him Sparky and glue little eyes on him!!! he works great I have 2 dogs & 9 parrots this lil vac cleans all the seed,pellets and dog hair with out any problems. the only problem Ive ever had was my sisters chihuahua came over and attempted to mate with Sparky!
 
I love mine! I have had them for about 3 years now my son named our's R2D2. They pick up a lot and fit right under most furniture so they can pick up things you wouldn't normally get with a regular one.
 
How exactly does it work? Do you just turn it on and let it run? Do you have to program the Roomba to a room's dimensions? I don't exactly understand how it runs...
 
I hated my roomba! It would always get clogged and when I would clean it, it would still tell me that it was clogged. I also found that it has crappy suction. I also have a dyson and I love it! I would definitely go with the dyson.
 
Roomba is great if you don't have allergies.

I can't use it because emptying the Roomba bin would bring on a major sneezing episode.

Roomba doesn't need programming. It just bounces off all walls, furniture legs, etc, until the room is covered.

If I didn't have allergies I would buy one in a heartbeat.
 
^^I make my DH empty the bin LOL. What's great about it for my allergies is that we let it run under our bed where my long-haired cat sleeps, so it ends up helping my allergies (as this is an area we cannot reach with a vacuum). Maybe get one of those plastic mask thingys that painters/sanders use? That might help you not inhale the dust from emptying the bin.

Anyway, I love my Roomba! The one we have comes with two small battery-operated "boxes" that basically shoot a laser a certain amount of feet and this acts as what's called an invisible wall, so you can keep Roomba contained to a certain room or out of others. As for stuff in the way, it gently bumps into furniture and walls and then turns around. It also can detect if it is on an upper step and will stop at the edge and not fall over (I wish my toddlers had this when they were learning to walk). You can pretty much turn Roomba on and leave the house; he will go back to his charging station if he runs out of battery power. Be sure you have the room picked up, though -- electrical cords and the fringe from area rugs can cause problems. I bought a Roomba for my mom for Christmas last year and she programmed it to run like every Friday at 6:00 am. Since I got my Roomba (and my cleaning lady), I haven't had to use my regular vacuum. Love love LOVE it!!
 
we've had one for about a year and it's great! we just call him "roomba" and when it's time to clean say, "roomba hungry. roomba want eat NOW!" ya, we're ridiculous in our household. he gets around everything fine except for one dresser which is just tall enough for him to get stuck under. :Push:

the first day we had him, we let him loose in the living room and just sat there for an hour or whatever and watched him. seriously. so sad, i know.

oh! get the barriers if you buy one! they are great for blocking off hallways and stuff w/o doors.
 
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Roomba. It was my little housekeeper. It is perfect for hardwood floors. Now that we live in a carpeted apartment I don't use it anymore.

But basically there are several ways it works. The regular function uses its sensors to bounce back and forth and cover the entire room. It does cover the entire room, goes under the bed, under the sofa, picks up dust, you'll be fishing out huge hairballs. Once it's done, it's supposed to go back to its starting post. The spot function basically goes circumferentially around your "spot" until the area is clean. The newer one has a "scheduler" function where you can program it to clean the room at a certain time.

That said, I bought mine with a warranty (through Sharper Image, obviously no longer available) and did end up using it. Sometimes the sensor wouldn't work and the Roomba wouldn't clean the room entirely or couldn't find its home base. But in hindsight, it's probably because I didn't clean it or change the filters... ever LOL. But my brother has it as do a few friends. None of them have problems.

I highly highly highly recommend it. My amazon review of it is under the id WorkingWifeMD
 
Annie, I am so glad you asked about this, because I had the same questions that you do!

I HATE housework, and after reading this thread...I am definitely saving my pennies for a Roomba! :nuts:
 
I just got the newest model of the Roomba a few weeks ago and in love with him (I decided that it is a him and named him Stewey). Anyway, it is so awesome to come home each evening to a cleaned house. My boyfriend and I had my parents over for dinner last weekend, and my dad was playing with it like it was a toy. His eyes got all big and he was "ooh-ing" and "aaah-ing" the little guy (especially when he impressively avoided falling down the stairs). I looked at my mom and said, "Looks like you'll be getting one of these for Christmas!" :lol:

rendodan, I love how you decorated yours! I must admit that I have been tempted myself. :smile: