Does anyone use a roomba? If so, do you like it? Any drawbacks?

[shraby]

[napi21]

1. I don't have one, but a fella my hubby works with does.

It's actually a funny story, when it happens to someone else. He has a dog. Almost all his floors are wood. The Roomba is programed to run during the afternoon while he is at work. One day, doggie had an accident, and of course since the Roomba is a machine it just runs it's program. When he came home, the floor was smeared from one side to the other with ....yuck! Other than that, he said he loves the Roomba. It does a great job.

[shraby]

4. That poor guy! I can imagine what he was thinking.

[pinboy3niner]

2. It's great! By the way, has anyone seen my cat?

(No, I don't really have one, sorry.)

[abelenkpe]

3. I had one

It was great until the battery died.

[shraby]

5. You didn't get a new battery for it?

[abelenkpe]

23. I did but it drained the new battery pretty much right away

It was an older model. It's several years old now. Thinking of getting a new one and letting my son take the old one apart. It was great while it worked cleaning the floors while we were away at work or school. Our place has all wood floors. Don't really know how it handles carpet or pet hair. Hope that helps!

[MADem]

8. You can get a new one from Amazon--better than the ones they sell. nt

[abelenkpe]

24. Good to know! Thanks!

We need a new roomba but I do want to let my son take the old one apart. There are lots of videos online that demonstrate ways of hacking the roomba. Thought it would be fun for him since he's into building robots.

[Zambero]

6. Yes, run it 2 or 3 times most days

My wife has asthma, and running the roomba several times daily cuts back on household dust which is a major trigger. The newer models recharge fairly quickly so it's not a lot of effort to empty the dust bin and get it ready for the next sweep. Drawbacks? It's not a vacuum per se, but more of a surface sweeper, so there's still a need to vacuum carpets periodically. For hard surfaces, it's very efficient however. It also tends to get stuck in certain situations, such as getting wedged between a low recliner chair and rug. It will then shut off and can be relocated with whatever charge is still available. There's also a certain amount of skip and overlap involved since the Roomba runs in a semi-random pattern -- an onboard computer employs an algorithm to reduce going over the same area twice, but my observation is that it's not 100% effective.

[Journeyman]

7. My wife and I had one some years ago, a gift from one of our daughters. . .

It worked well enough, but we had two dogs, one of whom shed enough to build a new dog every three days. The Roomba did what it was supposed to do, but the works got clogged with dog fur every time it ran. We then spent almost as much time cleaning the Roomba as we would have spent simply vacuuming the floor. Eventually, we sold it to a neighbor. She loves it. But then, she doesn't have any animals.

[laundry_queen]

10. I was going to say the same thing

My brother had 2 dogs too and bought a Roomba because of all the dog hair. At first he said it was great. Then it started having problems - as you said, when he would come home it would be totally clogged. He, too, eventually sold it.

I think it's probably ok if you don't have pets, or kids that leave tons of things on the floor.

[mindwalker_i]

9. It sucks

But only if you treat it well

[DesertFlower]

11. yes. i bought one when they first came out.

now they make them even better. i love that it vacuums under the bed. just make sure nothing is on the floor like a tissue. it will suck it up and get stuck in the brushes.

it sometimes gets stuck trying to get under my dresser which is too low for it to fit.

i bought the latest model about a year ago.

[greyl]

12. Don't own one, but the reviews at Amazon are better than I would have thought.

Last edited Fri Sep 26, 2014, 11:19 PM - Edit history (1)

This one is advertised as being for pets, and it's got 4.6 out of 5 stars:
iRobot Roomba 880 Vacuum Cleaning Robot For Pets and Allergies at Amazon

[Luminous Animal]

13. Every once in a while I dance to one.

[pinboy3niner]

14. Oh what a Tango'd web we weave...

[JHB]

20. Back at' chacha

[sandpan]

15. I returned the roomba because...

it did not clean the corners, it did a poor job cleaning around furniture or other obstacles, it fell off stairs and rugs, it banged into furniture and corners and I spent too much time pulling pet hair out of it.

[Glassunion]

27. You just perfectly described my old drunk roomate.

[AngryAmish]

17. Over five years old and going strong

You must clean it. Open it up every six month and flean inside.

[Freddie]

18. Yes it's great for carpet

As others have said, it requires some maintenance/cleaning but we use it on the living room carpet every couple days.
Insomniac? If I'm sitting on the couch reading while the Roomba is running the sounds of it often put me to sleep!

[Uncle Joe]

19. A roomba can give a cat an inflated sense of empowerment, as if they didn't have it already.

Thanks for the thread, shraby.

[randome]

21. My sister had one but it did a poor job at her place.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[shraby]

26. Love this picture! M.C. Escher had some dandies.

[Javaman]

22. Yup, it's great. I have hard wood floors and it works wonderfully.

just the corners need to be vacuumed.

make sure you clean the unit regularly.

[snooper2]

25. Roomba? Is that like a Sybian?

[IphengeniaBlumgarten]

28. Have the 880 model and like it

This is the new one that has flexible rollers instead of brushes, supposed to be better for hair. (Don't have a pet, but I have long hair that tended to clog my conventional vacuum. Have not clogged the roomba, but do have to remove hair from time to time.)

I have wood and tile floors with occasional area rugs. I like to run the roomba when I'm away from home. Effortless, so my floors are cleaner than they were pre-roomba. It can clean under most furniture.

A few flaws: yes, it sometimes gets stuck and can't figure out how to free itself. It has a tendency to close the utility room door and trap itself there, cleaning the same area endlessly, unless I remember to prop the door open. And due to its random movement algorithms, it may occasionally miss a small area. (But so did I.)

[shraby]

29. Thank you for the discussion. I don't trust the online

reviews too much. They can be jiggered by the people who sell the robot, but I know for a fact that won't happen here. I can count on you people to tell it like it is. Thank you again.

[Puglover]

30. I had one.

MUCH more trouble then it is worth. I would think if you lived in a small space with little clutter and no pets it might work fine.

For me not so much.

I sold the thing on Ebay.

[myrna minx]

31. As a person who lives below someone with one, I *loathe* them.

They are a noisy nuisance, Especially when my neighbors turn it on and leave - providing opportunity for it to get stuck under a radiator trying to free itself - for soooo long. Oh, how I wish the motor whole short out. Oh, how I miss living on the top floor.